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THEY    WERE  JUST   BEYOND   THE   EDGE    OF  THE   ICE   FIELD. — Page  2.32. 


UNDER    THE    OCEAN 
TO  THE  SOUTH  POLE 


Or 


The  Strange  Cruise  of  the  Submarine 
Wonder 


BY 
ROY  ROCKWOOD 

AUTHOR  OF  "THROUGH  THE  AIR  TO  THE  NORTH  POLE,"  "THE 

RIVAL  OCEAN  DIVERS,"  "A  SCHOOLBOY'S 

PLUCK,"  ETC 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 
CUPPLES  &  LEON  CO. 


GOOD  BOOKS  FOR  BOYS 
BY  ROY  ROCKWOOD 


THE  GREAT  MARVEL  SERIES 

THROUGH  THE  AIR  TO  THE  NORTH  POLE 
Or  The  Wonderful  Cruise  of  the  Electric  Monarch 

UNDER  THE  OCEAN  TO  THE  SOUTH  POLE 
Or  The  Strange  Cruise  of  the  Submarine  Wonder 

Cloth.    Illustrated 


Copyright,  1907,  by 
CUPPLES  &  LEON  Co. 


UNDER  THE  OCEAN  TO  THE  SOUTH  POLR 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  FACE 

I.  WILL  THE  SHIP  WORK? I 

IT.  A  LAND  OF  ICE .    .    .    10 

III.  RUNNING  DOWN  A  WAR  SHIP 19 

IV.  IN   THE   MIDST  OF   FIRE    .......    27 

V.  A  GRAVE  ACCUSATION 35 

VI.  ON  A  RUNAWAY  TROLLEY 43 

VII.  OFF  FOR  THE  SOUTH    POLE 52 

VIII.  ASHORE  IN  THE  DARK 60 

IX.  A    PRICE   ON   THEIR   HEADS 68 

X.  ATTACKED  BY  A  MONSTER 75 

XL  CAUGHT  IN  A  SEA  OF  GRASS 84 

XII.  FIRE  ON   BOARD 92 

XIII.  THE  GHOST  OF  THE  SUBMARINE 100 

XIV.  DIGGING   OUT  THE   SHIP 108 

XV.  THE  STRANGE  SHIPWRECK        ......  117 

XVI.  THE  GHOST  AGAIN        126 

XVII.  ATTACKED  BY   SAVAGES        134 

XVIII.  ON  LAND 143 

XIX.  REGAINING  THE  SHIP 152 

XX.  ON  A  VOLCANIC  ISLAND 160 

XXI.  CAUGHT  IN  A  WHIRLPOOL        .     .     .     •»    .     .  169 

XXII.  UNDER  FIRE *     .     .  177 

XXIII.  CAUGHT  IN  AN  ICE  FLOE 185 

XXIV.  THE  SHIP  GRAVEYARD 193 

XXV.  CAUGHT  BY  SEA  SUCKERS 201 

XXVI.  LAND  UNDER  ICE 211 

XXVII.  ATTACKED   BY   AN    OCTOPUS 220 

XXVIII.  OUT  OF  THE  ICE •  228 

XXIX.  THE   BOILING   WATER 235 

XXX.  THE  SOUTH   POLE  —  CONCLUSION      ....  240 


UNDER   THE  OCEAN   TO 
THE  SOUTH    POLE 


"  HAND  me  that  wrench,  Mark,"  called  Profes- 
sor Amos  Henderson  to  a  boy  who  stood  near 
some  complicated  machinery  over  which  the  old 
man  was  working.  The  lad  passed  the  tool  over. 

"  Do  you  think  the  ship  will  work,  Professor?  " 
he  asked 

"  I  hope  so,  Mark,  I  hope  so,"  muttered  the 
scientist  as  he  tightened  some  bolts  on  what  was 
perhaps  the  strangest  combination  of  apparatus 
that  had  ever  been  put  together.  "  There  is  no 
reason  why  she  should  not,  and  yet — " 

The  old  man  paused.  Perhaps  he  feared  that, 
after  all,  the  submarine  boat  on  which  he  had  la- 
bored continuously  for  more  than  a  year  would  be 
a  failure. 

"  Is  there  anything  more  I  can  do  now?  "  asked 
Mark. 

"  Not  right  away,"  replied  the  professor,  with- 
i 


2  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

out  looking  up  from  the  work  he  was  doing. 
"  But  I  wish  you  and  Jack  would  be  around  in 
about  an  hour.  I  am  going  to  start  the  engine 
then,  and  I'll  need  you.  If  you  see  Washington 
outside  send  him  to  me." 

Mark  left  the  big  room  where  the  submarine 
boat  had  been  in  process  of  construction  so  long. 
Outside  he  met  a  boy  about  his  own  age,  who  was 
cleaning  a  rifle. 

"How's  it  going,  Mark?"  asked  this  second 
youth,  who  was  rather  fat,  and,  if  one  could  judge 
by  his  face,  of  a  jolly  disposition. 

"  The  professor  is  going  to  try  the  engine  in 
about  an  hour,"  replied  Mark.  "  We  must  be  on 
hand." 

"I'll  be  there  all  right.  But  if  there  isn't  any- 
thing else  to  do,  let's  shoot  at  a  target.  I'll  bet  I 
can  beat  you." 

"  Bet  you  can't.     Wait  'till  I  get  my  gun.' 

"  Now  don't  yo'  boys  go  to  disportin'  yo'seves 
in  any  disproportionable  anticipation  ob  transposin' 
dem  molecules  of  lead  in  a  contigious  direction  to 
yo'  humble  servant !  "  exclaimed  a  colored  man, 
coming  from  behind  the  big  shed  at  that  moment, 
and  seeing  Mark  and  Jack  with  their  rifles. 

"  I  s'pose  you  mean  to  say,  Washington,"  re- 
marked Jack,  "  that  you  don't  care  to  be  shot  at. 
Is  that  it?" 


WILL  THE  SHIP  WORK?  3 

"  Neber  said  nuffin  truer  in  all  yo'  born  days  1  " 
exclaimed  Washington  earnestly.  "  De  infliction 
ob  distress  to  de  exterior  portion  ob  — " 

11  The  professor  wants  you,"  interrupted  Mark, 
cutting  off  the  colored  man's  flow  of  language. 

"  Yo'  mind  what  I  tole  yo',"  Washington  mut- 
tered as  he  hurried  into  the  work  room. 

Soon  the  reports  of  rifles  indicated  that  the 
boys  were  trying  to  discover  who  was  the  best  shot, 
a  contest  that  waged  with  friendly  interest  for 
some  time. 

The  big  shed,  where  the  submarine  ship  was 
being  built,  was  located  at  a  lonely  spot  on  the 
coast  of  Main.  The  nearest  town  was  Easton, 
about  ten  miles  away,  and  Professor  Henderson 
had  fixed  on  this  location  as  one  best  suited  to  give 
him  a  chance  to  work  secretly  and  unobserved  on 
his  wonderful  invention. 

The  professor  was  a  man  about  sixty-five  years 
old,  and,  while  of  simple  and  kindly  nature  in 
many  ways,  yet,  on  the  subjects  of  airships  and 
submarines,  he  possessed  a  fund  of  knowledge. 
He  was  somewhat  queer,  as  many  persons  may  be 
who  devote  all  their  thoughts  to  one  object,  yet  he 
was  a  man  of  fine  character. 

Some  time  before  this  story  opens  he  had  in- 
vented an  electric  airship  in  which  he,  with  Mark 
Sampson,  Jack  Darrow  and  the  colored  man, 


4  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Washington  White,  had  made  a  trip  to  the  frozen 
north. 

Their  adventures  on  that  journey  are  told  of  in 
the  first  volume  of  this  series,  entitled,  "  Through 
the  Air  to  the  North  Pole,  or,  The  Wonderful 
Cruise  of  the  Electric  Monarch." 

The  two  boys,  Mark  then  being  fifteen  and 
Jack  a  year  older,  had  met  the  professor  under 
peculiar  circumstances.  They  were  orphans,  and, 
after  knocking  about  the  world  a  bit,  had  chanced 
to  meet  each  other.  They  agreed  to  seek  to- 
gether such  fortune  as  might  chance  to  come  to 
them. 

While  in  the  town  of  Freeport,  N.  Y.,  they  were 
driven  away  by  a  constable,  who  said  tramps  were 
not  allowed  in  the  village.  The  boys  jumped  on 
a  freight  train,  which  broke  in  two  and  ran  away 
down  the  mountain,  and  the  lads  were  knocked 
senseless  in  the  wreck  that  followed. 

As  it  chanced  Professor  Henderson  had  erected 
nearby  a  big  shop,  where  he  was  building  his  air* 
ship.  He  and  Washington  were  on  hand  when  the 
wreck  occurred  and  they  took  the  senseless  boys 
to  the  airship  shed. 

The  boys,  after  their  recovery,  accepted  the  in- 
vitation of  the  professor  to  go  on  a  search  for  the 
north  pole.  As  the  airship  was  about  to  start 
Andy  Sudds,  an  old  hunter,  and  two  men,  Tom 


WILL  THE  SHIP  WORK?  5 

Smith  and  Bill  Jones,  who  had  been  called  in  to 
assist  at  the  flight,  held  on  too  long  and  were 
carried  aloft. 

Somewhat  against'  their  will  the  three  latter 
made  the  trip,  for  the  professor  did  not  want  to 
return  to  earth  with  them. 

The  party  had  many  adventures  on  the  voyage, 
having  to  fight  savage  animals  and  more  savage 
Esquimaux.  They  reached  the  north  pole,  but 
in  the  midst  of  such  a  violent  storm  that  the  ship 
was  overturned,  and  the  discovery  of  the  long- 
sought  goal  availed  little.  After  many  hardships, 
and  a  fierce  fight  to  recover  the  possession  of  the 
ship,  which  had  been  seized  by  natives,  the  ad- 
venturers reached  home. 

Since  then  a  little  over  a  year  had  passed.  The 
professor,  having  found  he  could  successfully  navi- 
gate the  air,  turned  his  attention  to  the  water,  and 
began  to  plan  a  craft  that  would  sail  beneath  the 
ocean. 

To  this  end  he  had  moved  his  machine  shop  to 
this  lonely  spot  on  the  Maine  coast.  The  two 
boys,  who  had  grown  no  less  fond  of  the  old  man 
than  he  of  them,  went  with  him,  as  did  Washing- 
ton White,  the  negro,  who  was  a  genius  in  his 
way,  though  somewhat  inclined  to  use  big  words, 
of  the  meaning  of  which  he  knew  little  and  cared 
less. 


6  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Andy  Sudds,  the  old  hunter,  had  also  been  in- 
duced to  accompany  the  professor. 

"  I  hunted  game  up  north  and  in  the.  air,"  said 
Andy,  "  and  if  there's  a  chance  to  shoot  something 
under  the  water  I'm  the  one  to  do  it." 

Needing  more  assistance  than  either  the  boys, 
Andy  or  Washington  could  give,  the  professor 
had  engaged  two  young  machinists,  who,  under  a 
strict  promise  never  to  divulge  any  of  the  secrets 
of  the  submarine,  had  labored  in  its  building. 

Now  the  queer  craft  was  almost  finished.  As 
it  rested  on  the  ways  in  the  shed,  it  looked  exactly 
like  a  big  cigar,  excepting  that  the  top  part  was 
level,  forming  a  platform. 

The  ship,  which  had  been  named  the  Porpoise, 
was  eighty  feet  long,  and  twenty  feet  in  diameter 
at  the  largest  part.  From  that  it  tapered  gradu- 
ally, until  the  ends  were  reached.  These  con- 
sisted of  flattened  plates  about  three  feet  in  di- 
ameter, with  a  hole  in  the  center  one  foot  in  size. 

Weary  months  of  labor  had  been  spent  on  the 
Porpoise,  until  now  it  was  almost  ready  for  a  trial. 
The  professor  had  discovered  a  new  method  of 
propulsion.  Instead  of  propellers  or  paddle- 
wheels,  he  intended  to  send  his  craft  ahead  or  to 
the  rear,  by  means  of  a  water  cable. 

Through  the  entire  length  of  the  ship  ran  a 
round  hole  or  shaft,  one  foot  in  diameter.  Within 


WILL  THE  SHIP  WORK?  7 

this  was  an  endless  screw  worked  by  powerful  en- 
gines. With  a  working  model  the  professor  had 
demonstrated  that  when  the  endless  screw  was  re- 
volved it  acted  on  the  water  just  as  another  sort 
of  screw  does  in  wood.  The  water  coming  in 
through  the  shaft  served  as  a  rope,  so  to  speak,  and 
the  screw,  acting  on  it,  pulled  the  craft  ahead  or  to 
the  rear,  according  to  the  direction  in  which  the 
screw  was  revolved. 

The  submarine  was  a  wonderful  craft.  It  con- 
tained a  powerful  engine,  electric  motors  and  dy- 
namos, and  machinery  of  all  kinds.  The  engine 
was  a  turbine,  and  steam  was  generated  from  heat 
furnished  by  the  burning  of  a  powerful  gas,  manu- 
factured from  sea  water  and  chemicals.  So  there 
was  no  need  to  carry  a  supply  of  coal  on  the 
ship. 

The  interior  of  the  vessel  was  divided  into  an 
engine-room,  a  kitchen,  combination  dining-room 
and  parlor,  bunk  rooms,  and  a  conning  tower,  or 
place  for  the  stearsman. 

While  the  boys  had  been  shooting  at  the  target 
the  professor  and  Washington  had  been  putting 
the  finishing  touches  to  the  engine,  tightening  nuts 
here  and  screwed  up  bolts  there. 

"  I  guess  that  will  do,"  remarked  the  old  inven- 
tor. "  Call  the  boys,  Washington." 

The  colored  man  went  to  the  door  and  gave 


8  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

three  blasts  on  a  battered  horn  that  hung  from  a 
string. 

"  Coming !  "  called  Mark,  as  he  and  Jack 
ceased  their  marksmanship  contest  and  approached 
the  shed. 

"  Now  boys,  we'll  see  if  she  works  so  far,"  said 
the  professor.  If  she  does,  we'll  give  her  a 
trial  under  water." 

At  the  inventor's  directions  the  boys  started  the 
gas  to  generating  from  the  chemicals.  Soon  the 
hissing  of  steam  told  them  that  there  was  power 
in  the  boiler. 

The  professor  entered  the  engine-room  of  the 
submarine.  He  looked  over  the  various  wheels, 
levers,  handles,  gages  and  attachments,  satisfying 
himself  that  all  were  in  proper  shape  and  position. 

"  Three  hundred  pounds  pressure,"  he  muttered, 
glancing  at  the  steam  indicator.  "  That  ought  to 
be  enough.  Are  you  all  ready,  boys  ?  " 

"All  ready!  "cried  Jack. 

Of  course  the  test  was  only  one  to  see  if  the  en- 
gine worked,  for  the  boat  could  not  move  until  in 
the  water. 

The  professor  opened  a  valve.  The  steam  filled 
the  turbine  with  a  hiss  and  throb.  The  Porpoise 
trembled.  Then,  with  a  cough  and  splutter  of  the 
exhaust  pipes,  the  engine  started.  Slowly  it  went 
at  first,  but,  as  the  professor  admitted  more  steam, 


WILL  THE  SHIP  WORK?  9 

it  revolved  the  long  screw  until  it  fairly  hummed 
in  the  shaft. 

"  Hurrah !     It  works  I  "  cried  Mark. 

"  It  does !  "  chimed  in  Jack. 

"  Gollyation !  She  suttinly  am  goin'  I  "  yelled 
Washington. 

"  I  think  we  may  say  it  is  a  success,"  said  the 
professor  calmly,  yet  there  was  a  note  of  exulta- 
tion in  his  voice. 

"  Now  that  you've  got  her  started,  when  are  you 
goin'  to  put  her  in  the  water  an'  scoot  along  under 
the  waves  ?  "  asked  Andy  Sudds. 

"  In  about  a  week,"  replied  the  professor. 

"  And  where  are  you  goin  to  head  for?  "  went 
on  the  hunter. 

'  We're  going  under  the  ocean  to  the  south 
pole !  "  exclaimed  the  inventor,  as  he  shut  off  the 
engine. 


CHAPTER  II 

A   LAND  OF  ICE 

"  THE  south  pole  ?  "  exclaimed  Mark. 

"  Way  down  dat  way !  "  cried  Washington. 

"  Can  you  do  it?  "  asked  Jack." 

"  That  remains  to  be  seen,"  replied  the  profes- 
sor, answering  them  all  at  once.  "  I'm  going  to 
try,  at  any  rate." 

"  Hurrah!  "  yelled  Mark.  "  It  will  be  better 
than  going  to  the  north  pole,  for  we  will  be  in  no 
danger  of  freezing  to  death." 

"  Don't  be  so  sure  of  that,"  interrupted  the  pro- 
fessor. "  There  is  more  ice  at  the  south  pole  than 
at  the  north,  according  to  all  accounts.  It  is  a 
place  of  great  icebergs,  immense  floes  and  cold 
fogs.  But  there  is  land  beyond  the  ice,  I  believe, 
and  I  am  going  to  try  to  find  it. 

"  It  will  be  a  longer  voyage  than  to  the  north 
pole,"  said  Jack. 

'  Jest  de  same,"  argued  Washington,  "  de  poles 
am  at  each  end  ob  de  world." 

'  Yes,  but  we're  quite  a  way  north  of  the  equa- 
tor now,  and  we'll  have  to  cross  that  before  we 

10 


A  LAND  OF  ICE  n 

will  be  half  way  to  the  south  pole,"   explained 
Jack.     "  But  I  guess  the  Porpoise  can  make  good 


time." 


"If  the  engine  behaves  under  water  as  well  as 
it  did  just  now,  we'll  skim  along,"  said  the  pro- 
fessor. 

"  And  so  you  figure  there's  land  down  there  to 
the  south,  do  you?"  asked  old  Andy. 

"  I  do,"  replied  the  inventor.  "  I  can't  prove 
it,  but  I'm  sure  there  is.  I  have  read  all  the  ac- 
counts of  other  explorers  and  from  the  signs  they 
mention  I  am  positive  we  shall  find  land  if  we  ever 
get  there.  Land  and  an  open  sea." 

"  And  other  things  as  well,"  muttered  Andy, 
yet  neither  he  nor  any  of  them  dreamed  of  the  ter- 
rible and  strange  adventures  they  were  to  have. 

The  next  few  days  were  busy  ones.  Many  little 
details  remained  to  perfect  in  connection  with  the 
ship,  and  a  lot  of  supplies  and  provisions  had  to  be 
purchased,  for  the  professor  was  determined  to  get 
all  in  readiness  for  the  trip  under  the  water.  He 
believed  firmly  that  his  ship  would  work,  though 
some  of  the  others  were  not  so  positive. 

'  We'll  put  her  into  the  water  tomorrow,"  an- 
nounced the  inventor  after  supper  one  night. 
"  Everything  is  complete  as  far  as  I  can  make  it, 
and  the  only  thing  remaining  is  to  see  if  she  will 
float,  sink  when  I  want  her  to,  and,  what  is  most 


12  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

important,  rise  to  the  surface  again.  For,"  he 
added  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  "  anybody  can 
make  a  ship  that  will  sink,  but  it  isn't  every  one 
who  can  make  one  that  will  come  to  the  surface 
again." 

"  Golly !  I  hope  dis  chile  ain't  goin'  to  git  in 
no  subicecream  ship  what'll  stay  down  under  de 
water  so  de  fishes  gits  him  I  "  exclaimed  Washing- 
ton, opening  his  eyes  wide.  'VDat's  worser  dan 
freezin  !  " 

"  Can't  you  swim?"  asked  Mark  with  a  wink 
at  Jack. 

"  Co'se  I  can  swim,  boy.  I  can  swim  like  a 
starfish,  but  I  can't  wif  ten  thousand  tons  of  a  sub- 
icecream  ship  on  my  back.' 

"  A  sub-ice-cream  ship  is  a  new  one,"  commented 
the  professor  with  a  smile.  "It's  a  submarine, 
Washington." 

"  I  can't  see  no  difference,"  persisted  the  col- 
ored man.  "  Subicecream  am  good  enough  for 
me." 

That  night  Mark  and  Jack  were  thinking  so 
much  of  the  proposed  test  of  the  ship  the  next  day 
that  they  each  dreamed  they  were  sailing  beneath 
the  waves,  and  Jack  woke  Mark  up  by  grabbing 
him  about  the  neck  during  a  particularly  vivid  part 
of  the  vision. 

"  What's  the  matter?  "  inquired  Mark,  sleepily. 


A  LAND  OF  ICE  13 

"  I  thought  the  ship  turned  over  and  spilled  me 
out  and  I  was  drowning,"  explained  Jack.  ;'  I 
grabbed  the  first  thing  I  got  hold  of  and  it  hap- 
pened to  be  you." 

"  Well,  as  long  as  you're  safe  you  can  go  to 
sleep  again,"  said  Mark.  "  I  dreamed  I  was  chas- 
ing a  whale  with  the  Porpoise." 

The  boys  were  up  early  the  next  morning,  and 
found  the  professor  and  Washington  before  them. 
The  inventor  was  inspecting  the  track  which  had 
been  built  from  the  shed  down  to  the  water's  edge 
to  enable  the  Porpoise  to  slide  into  the  ocean. 

With  him  were  the  two  machinists,  Henry  Wat- 
son and  James  Penson.  They  had  been  busy 
since  daylight  making  the  ways  secure. 

"  She  goes  in  after  breakfast,"  announced  the 
professor,  "  and  I'm  going  to  let  you  christen  her, 
Washington." 

"  Me?  I  neber  christened  a  ship,"  objected  the 
colored  man. 

"  Nothing  like  learning,"  remarked  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. 

"  Has  you  got  the  bottle  ob  wine  ? "  asked 
Washington. 

"  I  guess  soda  water  will  do,"  said  the  inventor. 
"  Now  look  sharp,  boys.  Get  your  breakfasts  and 
we'll  see  if  the  ship  will  come  up  to  our  expecta- 
tions.^ 


I4  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

No  one  lingered  over  the  meal.  When  it  was 
finished  the  professor  gave  Washington  a  few  in- 
structions about  breaking  the  bottle  over  the  nose 
of  the  Porpoise  as  she  slid  down  to  the  water,  for 
there  was  no  bow  to  such  a  queerly  shaped  vessel 
as  the  submarine. 

At  last  all  was  in  readiness.  The  two  machin. 
ists  knocked  away  the  last  of  the  retaining  blocks 
and  eased  the  ship  slightly  down  the  well-greased 
timbers  of  the  ways. 

"  There  she  goes ! "  cried  the  professor. 
"Break  the  bottle,  Washington!" 

"  In  de  name  ob  de  Stars  an'  Stripes,  in  de  name 
of  liberty,  de  home  of  the  free  an'  de  land  ob  de 
brave,  I  names  yo'  Mrs.  Porpoise!  "  cried  the  col- 
ored man,  but  he  was  so  long  getting  the  words 
out,  and  so  slow  in  swinging  the  bottle  of  soda, 
that  the  ship  was  quite  beyond  his  reach  when  he 
had  finished  his  oration.  He  was  not  to  be  out- 
done, however,  and,  with  a  quick  movement  he 
hurled  the  bottle  at  the  moving  ship.  It  struck 
the  blunt  nose  squarely,  and  shivered  to  pieces. 

"  Three  cheers  for  de  south  pole !  "  yelled 
Washington,  and  the  others  joined  in. 

The  next  instant  the  Porpoise  was  riding  the 
waves  of  the  little  bay,  dancing  about  as  lightly  as 
a  cork,  though,  from  the  nature  of  her  construc- 
tion, she  was  quite  low  in  the  water,  only  about 


A  LAND  OF  ICE  15 

three  feet  of  freeboard  showing  where  the  platform 
was  located. 

"  Well,  she  floats,  anyhow,"  remarked  the  pro- 
fessor. "  Row  out  and  fasten  cables  fore  and 
aft,"  he  went  on,  turning  to  the  two  machinists. 
In  a  few  minutes  the  Porpoise  was  fastened  to  a 
small  dock  with  strong  ropes  the  two  young  men 
had  carried  out  to  her  in  rowboats. 

"  We  will  go  aboard  in  a  little  while,"  the  pro- 
fessor said.  "  I  am  anxious  to  see  if  she  rides  on 
an  even  keel  and  how  the  sinking  tanks  work." 

Aided  by  the  boys,  he  and  Washington  carried 
on  board  a  number  of  tools  and  appliances.  Then, 
with  the  two  machinists,  they  all  descended  into  the 
interior  of  the  craft  through  the  small  manhole  in 
the  middle  of  the  deck  or  platform. 

Inside  the  Porpoise,  the  greater  part  of  which 
was  below  the  surface  of  the  waves  and  conse- 
quently in  darkness,  the  professor  switched  on  the 
electric  lights  and  then  he  proceeded  to  get  up 
steam. 

The  propelling  power  of  the  craft  has  already 
been  described.  In  order  to  make  the  ship  sink 
beneath  the  water  all  that  was  necessary  was  to 
incline  the  rudder  and  open  certain  valves  in  the 
four  tanks,  when  the  water,  rushing  in,  would  sink 
her.  There  was  a  tank  on  either  side,  and  one 
each  fore  and  aft.  If  it  was  desired  to  sink 


1 6  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

straight  down  all  four  tanks  were  filled  at  once. 
If  the  professor  wanted  to  descend  slanting  either 
to  the  front  or  back,  only  one  of  the  end  tanks 
was  filled,  according  to  the  direction  desired.  The 
deflecting  rudder  also  aided  greatly  in  this  move- 
ment. 

To  cause  the  ship  to  rise  the  tanks  were  emptied 
of  the  water  by  means  of  powerful  pumps.  The 
filling  of  the  tanks,  as  well  as  the  emptying  of  them, 
the  starting  or  stopping  of  the  engine  that  moved 
the  boat,  as  well  as  the  control  of  most  of  the  im- 
portant machinery  on  the  craft  could  be  accom- 
plished from  the  conning  or  stearing  tower,  as  well 
as  from  the  engine-room. 

There  were  numerous  gages  to  tell  the  depth  to 
which  the  ship  had  sunk,  the  steam  pressure,  den- 
sity of  the  water,  and  other  necessary  details. 

There  were  dynamos  to  make  light,  motors  to 
run  the  pumps,  and  a  great  storage  battery,  so  that 
in  case  of  a  breakdown  to  the  turbine  engine  the 
craft  could  be  run  entirely  by  electricity  for  a  time. 

The  cooking  was  all  done  by  this  useful  current, 
and  all  that  was  necessary  to  make  a  cup  of  coffee 
or  fry  a  beeksteak  was  to  turn  a  small  switch  of 
the  electric  stove. 

The  professor  was  busy  over  the  machine  for 
generating  gas,  that  furnished  the  heat  to  create 
steam.  Soon  a  hissing  told  that  it  was  working. 


A  LAND  OF  ICE  17 

In  a  few  minutes  the  hum  and  throb  of  the  engine 
told  that  it  was  ready  to  start. 

"  We  are  only  going  down  a  little  way,"  the  pro- 
fessor said,  "  and  only  going  to  travel  a  short  dis- 
tance under  water  for  the  first  time.  I  think  there 
is  no  danger,  but  if  any  of  you  want  to  back  out, 
now  is  your  chance." 

No  one  seemed  inclined  to  withdraw,  though 
Mark  said  afterward  he  thought  Washington  got 
as  pale  as  it  is  possible  for  a  colored  man  to  get. 

"  We  will  all  put  on  life  preservers,"  the  inven- 
tor went  on,  "  and  one  of  you  will  be  stationed  near 
the  emergency  exit.  In  case  anything  goes  wrong, 
and  I  cannot  make  the  ship  rise,  by  pulling  the 
lever  the  top  of  the  craft  will  be  forced  off,  and 
we  can  at  least  save  our  lives.  I  think  we  are  all 
ready  now.  Mark,  you  clamp  down  the  manhole 
cover,  and  Jack,  after  you  close  the  conning  tower 
station  yourself  at  the  emergency  lever  after  we 
have  donned  the  life  preservers." 

The  cork  jackets  were  adjusted  and  Mark 
clamped  the  manhole  cover  on.  The  professor 
took  one  last  look  at  the  various  levers  and  handles, 
and  then  turned  the  wheel  that  admitted  water  to 
all  four  tanks.  There  was  a  hissing  sound  as  the 
sea  water  rushed  in,  and  the  Porpoise  gave  a  sud- 
den lurch. 

Then  they  could  all  feel  the  submarine  sinking. 


i8  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Down  and  down  she  went.  Would  she  ever 
stop?  Would  the  professor  be  able  to  raise  her 
again  ?  There  were  questions  that  troubled  every- 
one. 

Down  and  down  the  craft  sunk,  until  by  the 
gage  it  was  indicated  that  she  was  twenty  feet  be- 
low the  surface.  Then  the  professor  shut  off  the 
inrush  of  water  and  the  Porpoise  floated  away  be- 
low the  surface  of  the  waves. 

There  was  a  clicking  sound  and  all  the  lights 
went  out.  The  boys  and  Washington  gave  a  gasp 
of  terror.  What  did  the  sudden  blackness  mean. 

"  Open  the  side  windows,"  called  the  profes- 
sor's voice,  and  the  two  machinists  obeyed.  Heavy 
steel  doors  that  covered  plate  glass  windows  in 
either  side  of  the  craft  were  pulled  back,  and  a  cry 
of  astonishment  broke  from  the  boys. 

They  looked  out  and  saw  staring  in  at  them,  so 
close  it  seemed  that  they  could  touch  them,  scores 
of  fishes  that  looked  in  through  the  glass  bulls- 
eyes. 

For  the  first  time  they  realized  that  they 
in  the  depths  of  the  ocean. 


CHAPTER  III 

RUNNING  DOWN  A  WARSHIP 

"  How  do  you  like  it?  "  asked  the  professor. 

"  Great!  "  exclaimed  Jack. 

"Fine!"  cried  Mark. 

"  It  am  simply  coslostrousness !  "  exploded 
Washington.  "  'Nebber  in  all  my  born  days  did  I 
eber  expansionate  on  such  a  sight  I  " 

"  Wish  I  had  a  fishing  pole  and  line,"  remarked 
Andy  Sudds.  "  There's  some  pretty  nice  speci- 
ments  out  there." 

"  You'll  see  better  ones  than  those  before  we 
finish  our  trip  to  the  pole,"  remarked  the  profes- 
sor. "  Now  we  will  try  moving  forward.  I  am 
going  into  the  conning  tower." 

He  turned  on  the  lights  once  more,  but  the  boys 
begged  him  to  shut  them  off,  as  they  could  see  out 
into  the  ocean  when  the  interior  of  the  ship  was  in 
darkness.  So  the  professor  obliged  them. 

In  the  tower  he  switched  on  the  powerful  search- 
light that  illuminated  the  path  in  front  of  him. 
Then  he  started  the  engine,  slowly  at  first,  and 
gradually  increasing  the  speed.  The  Porpoise 

19 


20  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

forged  ahead,  riding  as  evenly  as  an  ordinary  ship 
does  on  the  surface. 

The  professor  steared  her  about  in  a  large  cir- 
cle, bringing  her  back  to  the  starting  point.  She 
worked  as  smoothly  as  if  she  had  been  used  to 
under-water  service  for  years. 

"  Now,"  said  the  inventor,  "  we  will  see  if  we 
can  go  up  to  the  surface  again,"  and  there  came  a 
little  note  of  anxiety  into  his  voice.  He  slowed 
down  the  engine  and  started  the  powerful  pumps 
that  were  to  empty  the  tanks.  For  a  moment  there 
was  a  feeling  of  terror  in  the  hearts  of  all.  Would 
the  pumps  work  ? 

Then,  slowly  but  surely,  those  aboard  the  Por- 
poise felt  her  beginning  to  rise.  Up  and  up  she 
went  as  the  tanks  were  emptied  and  the  ship  light- 
ened. 

Then,  with  a  bounce  like  a  rubber  ball,  the  sub- 
marine shot  upward  to  the  surface  and  lay  undulat- 
ing on  the  waves  caused  by  her  emergence  from 
the  depths. 

"  Hurrah  I  "  shouted  Jack.    "  We're  all  right !  " 

"We  shore  ami  "  exclaimed  Washington. 

"  It's  a  success  1  "  Professor  Henderson  almost 
whispered.  "  The  pumps  worked.  The  Porpoise 
has  fulfilled  my  greatest  expectations !  " 

Then  he  steered  the  ship  back  to  the  dock,  where 
she  was  moored,  and  the  adventurers  disembarked. 


RUNNING  DOWN  A  WARSHIP  21 

"  One  or  two  little  details  to  attend  to,  and  we'll 
be  ready  for  the  great  trip,"  remarked  the  profes- 
sor. "  I  want  to  give  her  a  little  harder  trial  be- 
fore I  trust  her,  though  she  seems  to  be  first-rate." 

They  all  went  back  to  the  combined  machine 
shop  and  cabin,  where  they  had  lived  during  the 
building  of  the  submarine.  Dinner  was  prepared 
and,  after  the  meal  the  two  machinists  approached 
the  professor. 

"  I  don't  suppose  you  need  us  any  more,"  re- 
marked Henry  Watson.  "  The  ship  is  finished  as 
far  as  we  can  do  anything,  and  we  may  as  well 
leave  now.  We  have  an  offer  to  go  to  work  in  an 
electrical  shop." 

"  I  haven't  said  much  to  you  about  my  plans," 
the  professor  replied,  "  but  if  you  would  like  to  re- 
main in  my  employ,  I  can  promise  you  an  interest- 
ing trip." 

'  Thank  you,  but  I  prefer  to  work  above 
ground,"  said  James  Pensen.  "  You  have  been 
very  kind  to  us,  and  we  would  do  anything  we 
could  for,  but  we  don't  want  to  take  any  long 
under-ocean  trips  if  we  can  help  it." 

*  Very  well,"  answered  the  professor,  though 
he  seemed  disappointed.  "  I  will  pay  you  what  I 
owe  you  and  you  can  go." 

For  some  time  after  the  departure  of  the  two 
young  machinists  the  inventor  seemed  worried. 


22  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

14  Did  you  count  on  them  staying  with  you  ?  " 
asked  Mark. 

"  I  rather  hoped  they  would,"  replied  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. "  We  need  two  more  hands  if  we  are  to 
make  the  trip.  They  need  not  be  machinists,  but 
we  will  have  to  have  someone,  and  I  don't  like  to 
get  strangers.  They  might  talk  too  much  about 
the  ship." 

At  that  instant  there  came  a  rap  on  the  door. 
Washington  answered  it. 

u  Yas  sir,  Perfesser  Henderson  done  lib  here," 
he  replied,  in  answer  to  a  question  from  some  one. 
"  But  he  am  bery  busy  jest  at  de  present  occasioness 
an'  he'll  be  most  extremely  discommodated  if  yo' 
obtrude  yo'  presence  on  him  at  de  conglomeration 
ob  de  statutory  limitations,  which  am  to  say  right 
now.  Come  again !  " 

"  It's  the  same  old  Washington !  "  said  someone 
outside,  laughing  heartily.  "  Just  you  tell  the  pro- 
fessor we  want  to  see  him  most  particular." 

At  the  sound  of  the  voice  the  professor  started 
and  Mark  and  Jack  wondered  where  they  had 
heard  it  before. 

"  Show  the  gentlemen  in,  Washington,"  called 
the  inventor. 

"  Dere's  two  ob  'em,"  objected  the  colored  man. 

"  Show  them  both  in,  then." 

Washington  opened  the  door  of  the  cabin,  and  in 


RUNNING  DOWN  A  WARSHIP          23 

came  two  men,  who  seemed  much  amused  over 
something. 

'What  can  I  do  for  you?"  asked  the  profes- 
sor, in  rather  a  sharp  voice. 

"  He  don't  know  us  either,  Tom,"  remarked  the 
taller  of  the  two. 

"  If  it  ain't  Bill  Jones  and  Tom  Smith!  "  ex- 
claimed Andy  Sudds.  "  Wa'al  I'll  be  horn  swog- 
gled.  Where1  d  ye  come  from  ?  " 

"  Right  from  the  farm,"  replied  Bill.  "  And 
weVe  had  a  hard  job  locating  you.  I  guess  Wash- 
ington didn't  know  us  since  we  raised  beards,"  and 
Bill  stroked  his  wealth  of  brown  whiskers. 

"  And  I  guess  we  sort  of  fooled  the  professor," 
went  on  Bill,  "eh,  Tom?" 

"Right!"  said  Tom.  "You  see,"  he  went 
on,  "  the  farming  business  is  almost  over,  as  its 
coming  on  fall  now,  so  Bill  and  I  thought  it  would 
be  a  good  time  to  hunt  up  the  professor.  We 
heard  he  was  down  in  this  neighborhood  so  we 
come  by  easy  stages.  We  didn't  have  any  time 
to  stop  and  make  our  toilets,  hence  our  beards." 

'  You've  come  at  the  right  time,"  remarked  the 
inventor,  as  he  came  forward  to  welcome  the  two 
young  men.  "  Do  you  remember  the  trip  you 
made  with  me  to  the  north  pole  ?  " 

;'  I  guess  we'll  not  forget  it  in  a  hurry,"  replied 
Bill. 


24  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  That's  what  made  us  hunt  you  up,"  put  in 
Tom.  "  We  hoped  you  might  have  something 
similar  on  foot." 

"  I  have,"  answered  the  inventor. 

"What  is  it?" 

"A  trip  under  the  ocean!  " 

For  an  instant  the  two  young  men  hesitated. 
It  was  a  new  proposition  to  them.  Yet  they  re- 
called that  they  had  come  safely  back  from  the 
journey  through  the  air. 

"  Do  you  want  to  go  along  as  part  of  the 
crew?  "  asked  the  inventor,  after  some  further  con- 
versation. 

"  You  can  count  on  me !  "  cried  Bill. 

"  And  if  Bill  goes  I'll  go  too !  "  exclaimed  Tom. 

"  Under  the  seas  or  over  the  seas,  it'll  all  one  to 
us  if  Professor  Henderson  sails  the  ship!  "  went 
on  Bill.  "We'll  go!" 

"Good!"  ejaculated  the  professor.  "You 
certainly  came  at  just  the  right  time." 

As  Tom  Smith  and  Bill  Jones  were  hungry  a 
hasty  meal  was  prepared  for  them,  during  the  eat- 
ing of  which  they  told  of  their  experiences  since 
landing  from  the  airship.  They  had  been  on  a 
farm  until  fired  with  a  desire  to  go  roving  once 
more. 

For  the  next  few  days  the  professor,  the  boys, 
and  the  other  four  were  busy  making  some  im- 


RUNNING  DOWN  A  WARSHIP          25 

provements  to  the  Porpoise.  Tom  and  Bill  were 
much  astonished  at  their  first  sight  of  the  queer 
craft,  but  they  soon  became  accustomed  to  her,  and 
said  they  preferred  her  to  the  airship. 

'  To-morrow  we  are  going  on  a  little  longer 
trip  than  our  first  trial,"  announced  the  inventor 
one  evening.  "  We  will  be  gone  all  day  if  noth- 
ing happens  to  make  the  stay  more  lengthy,"  he 
added  grimly.  "  So,  Washington,  put  plenty  to 
eat  aboard." 

A  little  later,  when  supplies  had  been  put  on  the 
Porpoise,  and  the  machinery  well  overhauled,  the 
professor  explained  that  he  intended  making  a  trip, 
entirely  under  water,  from  the  dock  in  the  cove  to 
a  point  off  the  Massachusetts  coast  and  return. 

Early  the  next  morning  all  were  aboard.  To 
^ach  one  was  assigned  a  particular  station.  Wash- 
ington, with  Mark  as  an  assistant,  was  in  the  en- 
gine-room. Jack  was  to  watch  the  various  gages 
and  registers  to  give  warning  of  any  danger.  The 
professor,  of  course,  would  be  in  the  conning  tower 
and  operate  the  craft.  Andy  was  to  be  with  him, 
to  watch  out,  with  his  sharp  eyes,  for  any  danger 
that  might  loom  up  in  the  path  of  the  searchlight. 
Tom  and  Bill  were  to  be  ready  to  help  where 
needed. 

With  a  hissing  sound  the  water  filled  the  tanks 
and  the  Porpoise  sunk  beneath  the  waves.     The 


26  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

engine  that  worked  the  endless  screw  was  started, 
and  the  threads,  working  on  the  water  cable,  shot 
the  boat  ahead. 

"We're  off!"  yelled  Washington. 

About  sixty  feet  below  the  surface  the  craft 
was  sent  along.  Mile  after  mile  was  covered  as 
shown  by  the  patent  log.  The  lights  were  turned 
off,  and  through  the  thick  plate  glass  windows  the 
strange  inhabitants  of  the  sea  were  observed. 

u  I  think  I'll  go  a  little  nearer  the  surface,"  said 
the  professor  to  Andy.  The  inventor  started  the 
pumps  that  emptied  the  tanks.  The  craft  rose 
slightly. 

"Quick!  Stop  her!"  shouted  the  old  hunter, 
grasping  the  captain's  arm. 

Something  black,  like  a  grim  shadow,  loomed  up 
in  the  dull  glare  of  the  searchlight. 

"  What  is  it?  "  cried  the  professor. 

"  We're  goin'  to  hit  somethin'  hard !  "  yelled 
Andy. 

"  It's  the  hull  of  a  ship !  "  exclaimed  the  inven- 
tor as  he  jammed  the  reversing  lever  hard  over. 

It  was  too  late.  The  next  instant  the  Porpoise, 
with  a  shock  that  made  her  shiver  from  stem  to 
stern,  collided  with  the  steel  side  of  a  small  war* 
ship. 


CHAPTER  IV 

IN  THE  MIDST  OF  FIRE 

41  PULL  the  secondary  emergency  lever!  "  cried 
the  professor  through  the  speaking  tube  to  Wash- 
ington. "  We  must  reach  the  surface  at  once !  " 

"Are  we  damaged?"  asked  Andy,  scrambling 
to  his  feet,  for  the  shock  had  knocked  him  down. 
The  professor  had  not  fallen  because  he  clung  to 
the  steering  wheel. 

The  ship  gave  a  sudden  lurch. 

"  We're  sinking !  "  cried  Bill,  rushing  to  the 
conning  tower  from  the  engine-room. 

"  That's  only  the  action  of  one  of  the  emer- 
gency levers,"  said  the  professor  calmly.  "  It 
forces  compressed  air  into  the  tanks  the  more 
quickly  to  empty  them  of  water.  I  think  we  are 
safe." 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Mark,  as,  followed  by 
Jack,  he  came  forward. 

"  We  tried  to  do  the  torpedo  act  to  one  of 
Uncle  Sam's  ships,"  explained  Andy. 

The  electric  lights  had  been  switched  on,  and, 
with  the  Porpoise  flooded  with  the  bright  beams, 

27 


28  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

those  on  board  waited  anxiously  for  what  was  tc 
happen  next. 

Suddenly  an  upward  motion  was  experienced. 
The  next  instant  the  craft  bounced  out  of  the  water 
and  fell  back  in  a  smother  of  foam,  shaking  and 
shivering,  alongside  a  small  armored  warship  that 
was  anchored  about  two  miles  and  a  half  from 
shore. 

"  Open  the  manhole,"  commanded  Mr.  Hender- 
son. 

Mark  sprang  up  the  iron  ladder  that  led  to  the 
opening  in  the  deck  of  the  Porpoise  and  threw 
back  the  cams  that  held  the  heavy  iron  in  place. 
Then  he  swung  the  cover  back  and  stepped  out  on 
the  small  platform,  followed  by  the  professor, 
Andy  and  Jack.  They  looked  up  to  find  them- 
selves observed  by  a  curious  throng  that  crowded 
to  the  rail  of  the  warship. 

"  What  are  you  trying  to  do?  Ram  me  with  a 
new-fangled  torpedo?  "  asked  an  angry  voice,  and 
a  man  in  a  gold  laced  uniform,  who,  from  his  im- 
portance plainly  showed  himself  to  be  the  captain 
of  the  ship,  shook  his  fist  at  Mr.  Henderson. 

"  I  might  ask  what  right  your  ship  has  to  get  in 
my  path,"  replied  the  inventor.  "  It  was  all  an 
accident." 

"  Mighty  queer,"  muttered  the  naval  comman- 
der. "  Looks  very  suspicious.  How  do  I  know 


A  CURIOUS  THRONG  CROWDED  TO  THE  RAIL  OF  THE  WAR-SHIP.— 

Page  28. 


IN  THE  MIDST  OF  FIRE  29 

but  what  you're  a  torpedo  from  some  foreign  na- 
tion?" 

"  Because  this  is  not  a  torpedo,"  replied  Mr. 
Henderson.  "  It  is  a  new  submarine  boat  of  my 
invention,  and  I  was  giving  it  a  trial  spin." 

"  I  guess  you'd  better  come  aboard  and  do  your 
explaining,"  went  on  the  captain.  "  I  don't  like 
the  looks  of  things.  Lower  a  boat!"  he 
shouted,  "  and  bring  those  chaps  to  my  cabin.  I 
want  to  question  them." 

It  did  not  suit  Professor  Henderson  to  have  his 
plans  upset  in  this  fashion.  Nor  did  he  care  to  give 
a  detailed  description  of  his  ship  to  officers  of  the 
war  department.  He  had  many  valuable  inven- 
tions that  were  not  patented.  So  he  determined  to 
outwit  the  pompous  commander  of  the  cruiser. 

The  noise  made  in  preparing  the  small  boat  for 
lowering  over  the  side  of  the  big  ship  could  be 
plainly  heard. 

"  Go  below,  all  of  you,  and  as  quietly  as  you 
can,"  whispered  Mr.  Henderson. 

Andy,  Mark  and  Jack  obeyed.  At  that  instant 
the  side  of  the  warship  was  almost  deserted,  for  the 
sailors  who  had  gathered  to  observe  the  Porpoise 
had  gone  to  lower  the  small  boat. 

No  sooner  had  Jack,  who  was  in  the  rear,  disap- 
peared through  the  manhole  than  the  professor, 
with  a  quick  jump,  followed  him. 


30  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  Here !  Come  back !  "  shouted  the  warship's 
captain  as  he  saw  Mr.  Henderson's  head  disap- 
pearing from  view.  "  Come  back  I  say !  " 

But  with  a  quick  movement  the  inventor  pulled 
down  the  manhole  cover  and  clamped  it.  Then  he 
sprang  to  the  conning  tower,  and,  with  a  jerk, 
opened  the  levers  that  admitted  water  to  the  tanks. 
The  Porpoise  began  to  sink  slowly,  and  then  more 
suddenly,  so  that,  in  less  than  a  minute,  she  was 
out  of  sight  beneath  the  waves,  and  the  angry, 
gold-laced  captain  was  staring  in  wonderment  at 
the  place  where  the  submarine  had  been.  The 
spot  was  marked  only  by  a  few  bubbles  and  some 
foam. 

"  I  guess  he'll  wait  some  time  for  an  explana- 
tion," spoke  Mr.  Henderson,  as  he  started  the  big 
screw  and  sent  the  Porpoise  ahead  at  a  swift  pace. 

"  That  was  rather  a  narrow  escape,"  observed 
Jack,  standing  at  the  foot  of  the  conning  tower 
stairs  and  talking  to  Andy  and  Mr.  Henderson, 
who  was  steering. 

"  It  certainly  was,"  agreed  the  professor.  "  I 
have  not  yet  become  used  to  seeing  things  very  far 
ahead  in  the  dimness  caused  by  being  under  water. 
But  we'll  soon  get  used  to  it.  Luckily,  the  Por- 
poise was  not  damaged  by  the  shock." 

For  several  hours  the  Porpoise  was  kept  on  her 
course.  She  behaved  handsomely,  and  nothing 


IN  THE  MIDST  OF  FIRE  31 

excepting  slight  and  easily  remedied  defects  were 
found.  The  professor  steered  well  out  to  sea,  in- 
creasing both  the  forward  speed  and  the  depth  to 
which  the  vessel  sank.  Presently  the  craft  came 
to  a  stop  with  a  little  jolt. 

"  What's  the  trouble  ?  "  asked  Mark,  somewhat 
alarmed. 

"  Nothing  at  all,"  replied  the  professor  with  a 
smile,  as  he  stepped  out  of  the  conning  tower  and 
entered  the  engine-room.  "  I  thought  it  was  time 
for  dinner  so  I  stopped  the  ship.  We  are  now 
resting  on  the  ocean  bed,  about  half  a  mile  below 
the  surface.  Look!  " 

As  he  spoke  he  slid  back  the  slides  covering  the 
plate  glass  windows.  The  boys  saw  that  the  ship 
rested  in  the  midst  of  an  immense  forest  of  sea 
weed.  Some  of  the  stalks  were  as  large  around  as 
trees.  In  and  out  among  the  snake-like,  waving 
branches  swam  big  fishes.  It  was  a  weird,  but 
beautiful  sight. 

"  Come,  Washington,  serve  dinner,"  ordered 
Mr.  Henderson,  and  the  colored  man  soon  had  a 
good  meal  prepared.  Few  repasts  have  been  eaten 
under  such  strange  circumstances. 

Desiring  to  be  back  at  his  secluded  dock  by 
nightfall,  Captain  Henderson  soon  started  the 
Porpoise  up  again.  Without  any  accidents  the  re- 
turn trip  was  made  and  by  nine  o'clock  the  Porpoise 


32  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

rode  safely  at  the  dock  where  she  had  been  lauched. 

The  night  was  spent  in  the  cabin  on  shore. 
Early  the  next  morning  Mr.  Henderson  paid  a 
visit  to  the  ship,  to  make  a  thorough  examination 
by  daylight,  and  see  if  the  craft  had  suffered  any 
damage. 

"  I  think  you  and  Mark  will  have  to  make  a 
trip  to  town,"  he  said  to  Jack  at  the  breakfast  table. 
"  I  need  a  new  monkey  wrench  and  some  other 
tools  and  some  small  pieces  of  machinery.  I'll 
give  you  a  list  of  them,  and  you  can  bring  them 
back  in  a  valise,  for  they  will  be  quite  numerous." 

After  the  meal  the  inventor  made  a  record  of 
what  he  needed  and  the  boys  started  off. 

"  In  case  the  machine  shop  does  not  have  every- 
thing and  you  have  to  wait  for  something,  you  had 
better  stay  in  the  town  all  night,"  the  captain  of 
the  Porpoise  said.  "  It  is  quite  a  long  trip  and  I 
don't  want  you  traveling  after  dark.  Put  up  at 
the  hotel  if  you  are  delayed." 

Provided  with  money  for  their  purchase,  and  a 
large  valise  in  which  to  carry  them,  the  boys 
started  off.  They  had  to  walk  two  miles  to  where 
a  trolley  line  was  built  that  ran  to  the  town  of 
Easton,  where  they  were  to  get  the  tools  and  parts 
of  machinery. 

They  made  the  trip  safely  and  without  incident. 
When  they  gave  the  machinist,  to  whom  they  had 


IN  THE  MIDST  OF  FIRE  33 

been  directed  by  Mr.  Henderson,  the  list  of  the 
things  needed,  the  man  looked  puzzled. 

"  I'll  have  to  make  one  piece,"  he  said. 
"  You'll  have  to  wait  for  it.  Can't  promise  it  be- 
fore tomorrow  morning  about  eight  o'clock." 

"That  will  be  all  right,"  remarked  Mark. 
"  We'll  call  for  it  then." 

So,  bearing  in  mind  Mr.  Henderson's  instruc- 
tions, the  boys  engaged  a  room  at  the  hotel,  which 
was  quite  a  large  one,  for  Easton  was  a  favorite 
summer  resort  and  the  town  was  filled  with  visitors. 
The  lads  strolled  about  the  town,  had  their  dinner, 
and  then  went  for  a  bath  in  the  surf.  They  re- 
tired early,  for  they  were  tired. 

In  the  middle  of  the  night  Mark  began  to  dream 
that  he  was  on  board  the  Porpoise  and  that  the 
submarine  blew  up.  There  was  a  loud  noise,  he 
saw  a  bright  flash  of  flame,  and  saw  rolling  clouds 
of  smoke.  So  vivid  was  the  vision  that  he  thought 
he  tried  to  leap  out  of  the  boat,  and  awoke  with  a 
jump,  to  find  Jack  shaking  him. 

"What's  the  matter?"  inquired  Mark. 

"  The  hotel's  on  fire!  "  shouted  Jack. 

Mark  sprang  out  of  bed  and  with  Jack  rushed  to 
the  window,  for  their  room  was  filled  with  thick 
smoke.  They  could  see  the  dull  glare  of  flames, 
which  every  moment  were  becoming  brighter. 

The  next  instant  a  loud  explosion  shook  the 


34  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

building.  It  swayed  and  seemed  likely  to  topple 
over.  Outside  the  boys  could  hear  excited  shouts 
and  the  puffing  and  whistling  of  fire  engines. 

"Quick!  Run!"  yelled  Mark.  He  opened 
the  door  leading  into  the  corridor,  but  was  driven 
back  by  a  rush  of  flames  and  smoke  that  almost 
stifled  him. 

"  We  must  try  the  fire  escape !  "  shouted  Mark. 

"  Don't  forget  the  valise  with  the  tools;  "  ex- 
claimed Jack,  and  Mark  hastened  to  where  he  had 
placed  it  under  the  bed. 

Then  the  two  boys  rushed  to  the  balcony  on 
which  their  front  windows  opened,  and  whence  the 
fire  escapes  led  down  to  the  streets.  The  lads  had 
only  time  to  slip  on  their  coats,  trousers,  shoes  and 
caps. 

As  they  were  preparing  to  clamber  down  the 
iron  ladders  they  heard  someone  on  the  balcony 
next  to  them  shout: 

"  Here,  you  boys !     Stop !     I  want  you !  " 


CHAPTER  V 

A  GRAVE  ACCUSATION 

"  WE  haven't  time  now !  "  yelled  back  Mark, 
looking  in  the  direction  of  the  voice,  and  seeing  a 
short,  stout  man,  who  appeared  greatly  excited. 

"  Stop  or  I'll  shoot!  "  the  man  exclaimed. 

"  The  fire  must  have  made  him  crazy,"  said 
Jack.  "  Go  on,  Mark,  it's  getting  hot  up  above !  " 

Mark  did  not  linger  on  the  ladder  and  soon  the 
two  boys  were  in  the  street,  surrounded  by  an  ex- 
cited crowd. 

"  Are  you  hurt?  "  asked  several. 

"  I  guess  not,"  replied  Mark.  "  What  caused 
the  fire?" 

"  Some  sort  of  an  explosion,"  answered  a  police- 
man. "  Part  of  the  hotel  was  blown  up.  If  you 
boys  wish  you  can  go  to  a  station  house  where  you'll 
be  comfortable  until  morning." 

"  I  guess  we  will,"  said  Mark. 

They  started  to  work  their  way  through  die 
crowd  but  did  not  notice  that  the  strange  man  fol- 
lowed them.  The  fire  was  now  burning  fiercely, 

35 


36  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

and  once  they  had  gotten  clear  of  the  press  the 
lads  halted  to  look  at  the  spectacle. 

The  hotel  was  now  a  mass  of  flames  and  the 
firemen  were  kept  busy.  What  with  the  puffing 
of  engines,  the  whistling  of  the  steamers,  the  roar 
of  the  flames,  and  the  shouts  of  the  crowd,  pan- 
demonium reined. 

The  boys  watched  the  fire  for  some  time.  Grad- 
ually the  flames  came  under  the  control  of  the 
men  and  the  leaping  tongues  died  out. 

"  I  guess  we'd  better  go  to  the  police  station," 
suggested  Jack. 

Mark  agreed  this  would  be  a  good  thing  to  do, 
as  both  of  them  felt  rather  chilly  in  the  night 
air  with  only  half  of  their  clothes  on.  They  in- 
quired their  way  of  the  first  policeman  they  saw, 
and  he  volunteered  to  escort  them. 

"  Sure  an'  you'll  have  plenty  of  company,"  he 
said.  "  The  hotel  was  full  an'  the  people  have  no 
place  to  go  except  to  the  lock-up.  Some  swells 
will  be  glad  to  take  a  place  behind  the  bars  to- 
night I'm  thinkin'.  I  wonder  how  some  of  those 
English  aristocrats  will  like  it?" 

"  English  aristocrats  ?  "  repeated  Jack.  "  Are 
any  here?  " 

"  Sure.  There's  a  lot  of  them  burned  out. 
Lord  Peckham  was  stoppin'  at  the  hotel  with  a 
big  crowd  of  people,  an'  their  apartments  was  all 


A  GRAVE  ACCUSATION  37 

destroyed.     Some  of  'em  went  to  the  police  sta- 
tion." 

The  boys  followed  their  uniformed  guide 
through  the  streets  of  Easton,  and  were  soon  at 
the  station  house.  There  they  were  received  by 
the  sergeant  in  charge,  while  the  matron  gave  them 
each  a  cup  of  hot  coffee,  a  large  pot  of  the  bev- 
erage having  been  brewed. 

"  I'll  have  to  give  you  boys  one  bed  between 
you,"  said  the  sergeant.  "  We're  rather  crowded 
for  room  tonight." 

"  Anything  will  do  us,"  said  Jack  with  a  laugh. 

Just  then  there  was  some  excitement  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  police  station. 

"  I  tell  you  they're  in  here !  I  will  see  them!  " 
a  voice  exclaimed.  "  I  want  them  arrested  at 
once!" 

"  Go  easy  now,"  counseled  the  doorman 
as  he  tried  to  hold  back  a  short,  stout,  excited  man 
who  was  pushing  his  way  into  the  station. 

'  There  they  are !  "  exclaimed  the  man,  point- 
ing to  Jack  and  Mark. 

'  Why  those  boys  are  from  the  burned  hotel," 
said  the  doorman. 

"  I  know  it!     They  are  the  very  ones  I  want!  " 
'  What  do  you  of  us?  "  spoke  up  Mark.     He 
recognized  the  man  as  the  one  who  had  called  to 
him  as  he  and  Jack  were  escaping. 


38  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  I  charge  you  with  being  sons  of  James  Dar- 
row,  the  notorious  English  anarchist!  "  cried  the 
little  man,  pointing  his  finger  at  the  boys,  "  ancf 
I  accuse  you  of  trying  to  kill  Lord  Peckham  with 
a  bomb,  the  explosion  of  which  set  fire  to  the 
hotel!" 

For  a  moment  the  surprising  charge  so  aston- 
ished every  one  that  not  a  word  was  said.  Then 
the  little  man,  advancing  toward  the  boys  went 
on: 

"  I  arrest  you  in  the  name  of  His  Royal  High- 
ness, Edward  VII,  King  of  England,  Scotland 
and  Wales." 

He  threw  back  the  lapel  of  his  coat  and  showed 
a  badge. 

"  King  of  England,  Scotland  and  Wales,  is  it!  " 
exclaimed  the  doorman  with  a  twinkle  in  his 
eye.  "  An'  why  didn't  ye  say  Ireland  into  the 
bargain." 

"  Ireland,  of  course,"  went  on  the  little  man. 
u  I'm  an  officer  of  His  Most  Gracious  Majesty," 
he  added,  "  and  I  demand  the  assistance  of  the 
United  States  authorities  in  general  and  the  police 
of  Easton  in  particular  in  taking  these  desperate 
criminals  into  custody !  " 

"  Hold  your  horses,"  advised  the  desk-sergeant. 
'*  Those  boys  are  not  liable  to  run  away.  They're 
to  stay  here  over  night,  and  if  you  have  any  charge 


A  GRAVE  ACCUSATION  39 

to  make  against  them  why  you'll  have  to  come  and 
see  the  judge  in  the  morning." 

"  But  they  are  sons  of  an  anarchist  I  They 
are  anarchists  themselves !  "  exclaimed  the  man. 
"  I  must  arrest  them !  " 

"  You're  not  going  to  arrest  anybody,"  said 
the  sergeant,  "  until  you  get  a  warrant  from  the 
judge.  This  isn't  England." 

"  Then  I'm  going  to  stay  with  these  boys  the 
rest  of  the  night,"  insisted  the  man.  "  I  can't 
take  any  chances  on  their  giving  me  the  slip." 

"  This  place  is  going  to  be  crowded  with  peo- 
ple from  the  burned  hotel,"  objected  the  sergeant. 
"  There  will  be  no  room  for  you.  Besides,  how 
do  I  know  these  boys  are  anarchists?  " 

"  Look  in  their  valise,"  cried  the  stranger.  "  It 
is  filled  with  bombs." 

"  You  can't  look  in  this  satchel,"  exclaimed 
Jack,  for  he  remembered  the  valise  contained  parts 
of  the  professor's  secret  machines. 

"  What  did  I  tell  you  ?  "  cried  the  Englishman 
with  triumph  in  his  tones.  "  They  are  the  guilty 
ones.  They  are  afraid  to  open  their  valise." 

"  We  are,  but  not  because  it  has  bombs  in 
it,"  said  Mark.  "  It  has  parts  of  an  unpatented 
machine  and  the  owner  does  not  want  any  one 
to  see  them,"  for  Mark  remembered  Mr.  Hen- 
derson's strict  injunctions  to  let  no  one  but  the 


40  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

mechanist  to  whom  they  had  gone  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  parts  that  were  to  be  duplicated.  The  ma- 
chinist was  sworn  to  secrecy. 

"  It's  none  of  our  affair,"  said  the  sergeant, 
though  he  seemed  a  little  impressed  by  the  English- 
man's words  and  the  reluctance  Mark  and  Jack 
showed  to  letting  the  valise  be  opened.  "  The 
boys  will  be  here  until  morning,  and  then  you  can 
see  the  judge.  Now  you'll  have  to  get  out.  You 
boys  get  to  bed." 

Muttering  threats,  the  stranger  went  from  the 
station  house,  and  Mark  and  Jack,  in  response 
to  a  nod  from  the  doorman,  followed  him  up- 
stairs to  a  part  of  the  police  station  used  to  detain 
witnesses.  They  were  shown  to  a  small  room 
with  a  single  bed. 

"Are  ye  really  anarchists?"  asked  the  door- 
man. 

"  Not  a  bit,"  replied  Jack,  and  he  told  as  much 
of  their  story  as  he  dared. 

"  I  was  kind-of  hopin'  ye  was,"  said  the  officer 
with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye.  "  It  wouldn't  do  any 
harm  to  scare  that  uppish  Englishman  a  bit.  Sure 
he  an'  his  kind  have  done  enough  to  poor  old 
Ireland." 

"  I'm  sorry  we  can't  oblige  you,"  said  Mark 
with  a  laugh. 

"  I  guess  ye're  all  right,"   went  on  >he  door- 


A  GRAVE  ACCUSATION  41 

man.  "  I  hope  ye  sleep  good  the  rest  of  the 
night." 

Then  he  left  them  alone.  What  with  the  ex- 
citement of  the  fire  "and  the  startling  accusation 
against  them,  the  boys'  brains  were  too  excited 
to  let  them  sleep  much.  They  had  a  few  fitful 
naps  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  night. 

It  was  just  getting  daylight  when  Mark  was 
awakened  by  some  one  shaking  him. 

M  What  is  it?  "  he  asked.     "  Another  fire?  " 

"  Not  this  time,"  replied  a  voice,  and  Mark, 
now  that  his  eyes  were  fully  opened,  saw  the  door- 
man bending  over  him. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Jack  waking  up 
in  his  turn. 

"  Easy !  "  exclaimed  the  doorman  in  a  whisper. 
u  I  happened  to  think  ye  might  want  to  be  leavin'." 

"Leaving?"  asked  Mark  in  bewilderment. 

*  Yes.  Ye  know  that  Englishman  is  liable 
to  be  back  any  minute,  an'  he  may  make  trouble 
for  ye.  I  know  ye're  innocent  lads,  an'  I'd  hate 
to  see  ye  mixed  up  in  a  mess  with  that  fellow.  So 
I  slips  up  here  early,  an'  ye  can  leave  by  the  back 
door  if  ye  want  to,  an'  the  officer  of  His  Imperial 
Majesty,  King  Edward  VII,  will  never  know  a 
thing  about  it." 

;<  It  looks  like  running  away,"  objected  Jack. 

"  Sure  there's  no  charge  agin  ye,"  went  on  the 


42  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

doorman.  "  Ye're  free  to  come  an'  go  as  far  as 
we're  concerned,  an'  ye'd  better  go  whilst  ye  have 
the  chance." 

Jack  reflected.  It  was  true  that  the  charge  of 
the  Englishman,  baseless  as  it  was,  might  make 
trouble  for  them,  and  cause  them  endless  delays 
in  getting  back  to  Professor  Henderson.  Sud- 
denly Jack  made  up  his  mind. 

"  Come  on  Mark,"  he  said. 


CHAPTER  VI 

ON  A  RUNAWAY  TROLLEY 

"  ARE  you  going  to  leave  ?  '  asked  Mark. 

"  Certainly.  There  is  no  use  staying  here  and 
getting  mixed  up  in  something  that  Englishman 
thinks  we  have  done.  It's  easier  to  go  away 
quietly  and  let  him  find  out  his  mistake." 

"  All  right,"  agreed  Mark.  "  I  wonder  who 
he  is,  anyhow  ?  " 

"  He  thinks  he  owns  the  earth,  whoever  he  is," 
returned  Jack. 

"  He's  some  sort  of  a  special  detective  travel- 
ing with  Lord  Peckham's  party,"  explained  the 
doorman.  "  He  told  us  a  lot  about  himself  last 
night  after  you  boys  went  to  bed.  He  came  back 
to  inquire  how  early  the  judge  would  be  here. 

"  He  went  on  to  tell  how  some  English  anar- 
chists have  vowed  to  kill  Lord  Peckham  because 
he  foreclosed  a  lot  of  mortgages  on  some  poor 
people  in  Ireland  where  he  owned  property," 
added  the  doorman.  "  There  was  some  sort  of 
explosions  in  the  hotel,  near  where  Lord  Peck- 
ham  had  his  rooms.  Maybe  it  was  a  bomb  and, 

43 


44  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

maybe  ag'in  it  was  only  the  boiler.  Anyhow, 
this  detective  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that  anar- 
chists had  done  it,  and  he  thinks  you  are  respon- 
sible. But  you'd  better  be  goin'  now.  It's  get- 
tin'  daylight." 

So  Mark  and  Jack,  with  what  scanty  clothes 
they  had,  and  carrying  their  valise,  went  quietly 
out  of  the  back  door  of  the  police  station. 

"  We'd  better  go  to  the  machine  shop  for  the 
rest  of  the  stuff,"  suggested  Mark,  "  and  then  we 
can  take  the  first  trolley  we  see  and  get  back  to 
the  professor." 

Through  quiet  side  streets  the  boys  made  their 
way  toward  the  machine  shop.  They  were  some- 
what amused  to  think  how  they  had  fooled  the 
detective,  but  they  would  not  have  felt  so  jolly 
had  they  seen  the  roughly  dressed  man  who  had 
darted  after  them  as  soon  as  they  left  the  police 
station. 

"  I'll  get  you  yet,"  the  man  muttered.  "  You 
needn't  think  to  escape  with  the  aid  of  these 
bloomin'  American  police." 

The  lads  found  the  machinist  just  opening  his 
shop  though  it  was  quite  early.  The  pieces  of 
apparatus  were  finished  and,  after  paying  for  them 
Mark  put  the  parts  in  the  valise. 

"  Quite  a  fire  in  town,"  observed  the  machin- 
ist. 


ON  A  RUNAWAY  TROLLEY  45 

"  Yes,"  answered  Mark,  not  wishing  to  get  into 
a  Jong  conversation. 

"  Heard  the  hotel  was  blowed  up  by  anarchists 
and  that  the  police  a're  after  'em,"  proceeded  the 
man. 

"  I  believe  I  did  hear  something  like  that," 
admitted  Mark.  "  I  guess  we'll  be  going." 

He  signalled  to  Jack,  and  the  two  hurried  out 
of  the  shop.  As  they  did  so,  the  trampish-look- 
ing  man  glided  from  behind  a  tree  where  he  had 
been  hiding  and  took  after  them. 

"  Say,"  exclaimed  Jack,  "  I  forgot  we  haven't 
had  any  breakfast  yet." 

"  That's  so,"  said  Mark,  rubbing  his  stomach 
and  making  a  wry  face. 

Near  by  was  a  bakery,  and  there  the  lads  got 
some  coffee  and  rolls  which  tasted  fine.  When 
they  finished  their  simple  meal  a  trolley  came 
past  and  they  ran  to  catch  it.  So  did  the  man 
who  had  been  following  them,  but  this  person 
bore  no  resemblance  to  the  spruce  little  detec- 
tive who  had  wanted  to  arrest  the  boys. 

"  A  couple  of  hours  now  and  we'll  be  back 
at  the  cabin,"  spoke  Mark.  "  My,  but  I  must  say 
we  have  had  strenuous  times  since  we  started 
away!  " 

There  were  few  passengers  on  the  trolley  so 
early  in  the  morning  and  not  many,  stops  to  make, 


46  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

so  the  motorman  turned  on  the  power  full  and 
made  the  vehicle  speed  along. 

Mile  after  mile  was  covered  and  finally  the  car 
reached  the  top  of  a  long  hill.  At  the  foot  of 
this  the  line  came  to  an  end,  and  the  boys  had  a 
two  mile  tramp  before  them  to  reach  the  lonely 
spot  where  the  Porpoise  was  docked. 

Down  the  hill  the  car  started.  The  motor- 
man shut  off  the  electricity  and  let  the  vehicle  run 
by  its  weight. 

Faster  and  faster  it  ran,  the  dust  flying  In  a 
cloud  about  it. 

"  Better  put  the  brakes  on  a  bit,"  called  the 
conductor.  "  It's  gettin'  kinder  speedy,  Hank!  " 

The  motorman  twisted  the  handle.  There  was 
a  grinding  noise  as  the  shoes  took  hold  on  the 
wheels.  Then  a  chain  snapped  and  the  car 
seemed  to  leap  ahead. 

"The  brake's  busted!  I  can't  stop  the  car!  " 
yelled  the  motorman. 

Vainly  he  twisted  at  the  handle.  Then,  see- 
ing he  could  not  stop  the  trolley  car  he  made  a 
desperate  jump  off  the  vehicle  and  landed  in  a 
heap  on  the  side  of  the  road,  rolling  over  and 
over. 

"  Reverse  the  current!  "  cried  one  of  the  passen- 
gers, to  the  conductor.  "  That  ought  to  stop 
her!" 


ON  A  RUNAWAY  TROLLEY  47 

The  conductor  made  his  way  to  the  front  plat- 
form and  turned  the  reversing  lever.  Then  he 
applied  the  current.  But  it  was  no  use.  With 
a  blinding  flash  and  a  report  like  that  of  a  gun 
a  fuse  blew  out,  and  that  crippled  the  car  com- 
pletely so  far  as  the  electric  current  was  concerned. 

"  Everybody  jump ! "  cried  the  conductor. 
"  There's  a  curve  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  we'll 
all  be  killed  if  we  stay  on !  " 

One  by  one  the  passengers  leaped  from  the  car. 
Several  were  badly  hurt  by  the  falls  they  got. 
Meanwhile  the  trolley  was  tearing  down  the  hill 
at  a  terrific  rate  of  speed. 

"  Shall  we  jump?  "  asked  Mark  of  Jack. 

"  We'll  be  killed  if  we  do,"  was  Jack's  answer. 

"  And  we'll  be  killed  if  we  stay  aboard,"  said 
Mark. 

"  Not  if  I  can  help  it,"  cried  Jack  as  he  started 
for  the  rear  platform. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do?  "  asked  Mark. 

"  Put  on  the  other  brake.  They  never  thought 
to  try  this  one !  Maybe  it  will  work  and  stop 
the  car!" 

Then  Mark  saw  what  Jack  was  up  to  and 
went  to  help  him.  The  shabbily  dressed  man 
seemed  undecided  what  to  do.  He  stood  up, 
holding  to  the  straps  to  prevent  himself  from 
being  tossed  from  side  to  side  as  the  runaway 


48  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

trolley  swayed.     He  watched  the  boys  curiously. 

The  lads,  reaching  the  rear  platform,  twisted 
at  the  brake  handle  with  all  their  strength.  They 
could  feel  that  the  chain  was  still  intact.  But 
would  the  shoes  grip  the  wheels  with  force  suf- 
ficient to  stop  the  car? 

There  was  a  shrill  screech  as  the  brakes  were 
applied  by  the  boys.  With  all  their  might  they 
turned  the  handle,  winding  the  chain  up  tighter 
and  tighter.  At  last  they  could  not  budge  it  an- 
other inch.  Then  they  waited  anxiously. 

The  car  never  slackened  its  speed.  So  great 
was  the  momentum  that  had  both  sets  of  brakes 
been  in  working  order  it  is  doubtful  whether  they 
would  have  stopped  the  vehicle.  The  speed  was 
so  great  now  that  one  of  the  journals  became  hot 
and  the  oily  waste  that  was  packed  in  it  caught 
fire,  making  what  railroad  men  term  a  "  hot  box". 

"  I  guess  we're  done  for,"  groaned  Mark. 

"  We  certainly  haven't  checked  the  speed  any," 
Jack  admitted.  "  But  wait  a  minute." 

He  began  stamping  on  the  floor  of  the  platform. 

"What  you  doing?"  cried  Mark,  for  he  had 
to  shout  to  make  his  voice  heard  above  the  roar 
and  rattle  of  the  car. 

"  Putting  on  the  sand,"  replied  Jack,  as  he 
kicked  at  the  plunger  which,  being  depressed,  let 
a  stream  of  fine  gravel  out  on  the  rails.  "  The 


ON  A  RUNAWAY  TROLLEY  49 

wheels  are  gripped  I  think,  and  are  slipping  on 
the  rails.  This  may  help  some." 

"  Let  me  give  you  a  hand,"  exclaimed  a  voice, 
and  the  boys  turned  to  see  the  shabby  man  stand- 
ing with  them  on  the  platform.  He  grasped  the 
brake  handle,  and  gave  it  an  additional  turn.  His 
strength  seemed  remarkable  for  so  small  a  man. 

The  speed  of  the  car  was  checked  a  little,  but 
the  vehicle  was  still  speeding  along  at  a  rate  that 
would  soon  bring  it  to  destruction  if  not  halted 
before  the  curve  was  reached. 

"  That's  a  little  better,"  observed  Mark.  "  It's 
a  good  thing  you  were  here." 

"  Good  for  me,  not  so  good  for  you,"  said  the 
man  with  a  peculiar  smile. 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Mark. 

"  I  mean  that  I  shall  have  to  place  you  under 
arrest  for  attempting  to  assassinate  Lord  Peck- 
ham  !  "  exclaimed  the  man.  "  I  am  Detective 
Ducket,  of  Scotland  Yard!  " 

He  stripped  off  a  false  beard  he  had  donned, 
and  threw  back  his  coat,  displaying  his  shield. 
He  was  the  same  man  who  had  attempted  to  arrest 
the  boys  in  the  police  station  at  Easton. 

"  I've  got  you  just  where  I  want  you  now," 
Detective  Ducket  went  on.  "  There  are  none  of 
those  blooming  American  police  to  interfere." 

The  next  instant  the  car  gave  a  sudden  lurch. 


50  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Then  it  seemed  to  rise  up  in  the  air.  Jack  felt 
himself  flying  through  space,  and  he  observed 
Mark,  who  was  clinging  to  the  valise,  following 
him. 

There  was  a  terrific  crash,  a  ripping,  tearing 
splintering  sound,  and  the  runaway  trolley  smashed 
into  a  big  oak  tree  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  The 
vehicle  had  completely  jumped  the  track  at  the 
sharp  curve. 

Jack's  eyes  grew  dim,  and  he  seemed  to  be 
sinking  down  in  some  dark  pool  of  water.  He 
heard  a  splashing  beside  him  and  began  to  strike 
out,  trying  to  swim.  He  seemed  to  be  choking. 
Then  the  blessed  air  and  daylight  came  to  him, 
and  he  found  he  was  floating  on  the  surface  of 
a  pond. 

He  dashed  the  water  from  his  eyes  and  saw, 
over  on  the  bank,  the  wreck  of  the  trolley.  Then 
he  noticed  that  Mark  was  swimming  beside  him. 

"  What  happened?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  A  little  of  everything,"  panted  Mark. 
"  Lucky  we  weren't  killed.  We  must  have  been 
flung  off  the  rear  platform  into  this  duck  pond." 

The  boys  soon  made  their  way  to  shore,  un- 
hurt except  for  the  wetting.  The  fall  into  the 
water  had  saved  their  lives. 

"Where's  the  valise  of  machinery?"  asked 
Jack. 


ON  A  RUNAWAY  TROLLEY  51 

"  There  it  is,"  answered  Mark  pointing  to 
where  it  had  fallen  at  the  back  of  the  pond. 

"  And  what  became  of  Detective  Ducket  ?  " 

"  He's  here,  at  your  service !  "  exclaimed  a 
voice.  "  Consider  yourselves  under  arrest  and 
don't  you  dare  to  leave  this  place  without  me." 

The  boys  looked  in  the  direction  of  the  sound 
and  saw  the  English  officer  lying  on  the  grass  not 
far  away.  He  seemed  in  pain,  but  had  raised 
himself  on  his  elbow  and  was  pointing  his  finger 
sternly  at  the  boys. 


CHAPTER  VII 

OFF  FOR  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  ARE  you  hurt  ?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  I  think  my  leg  is  broken,  but  otherwise  I'm 
not  damaged,"  replied  the  detective.  "  Even  if 
I  am  disabled,  it  makes  no  difference,  you  are 
my  prisoners.  I  command  you  to  stay  here  until 
help  comes." 

The  boys  did  not  know  what  to  do.  They  did 
not  like  to  see  even  an  enemy  suffer,  but,  at  the 
same  time,  they  knew  he  had  no  right  to  arrest 
them. 

"  Here  comes  a  wagon,"  said  Mark,  catching 
the  sound  of  wheels. 

"  Well,  fo'  de  land  sakes !  Gollyation !  What 
terrible  catafterme  hab  occurred  in  dis  unapproach- 
able manner  ?  "  a  voice  demanded. 

"  It's  Washington !  "  cried  Mark,  as  he  saw 
Professor  Henderson's  colored  assistant  driving 
along  the  road. 

"  Dat's  who  it  am !  "  exclaimed  Washington  as 
he  noticed  the  boys.  "  My!  My!  But  am  you 
boff  dead?" 

52 


OFF  FOR  THE  SOUTH  POLE  53 

"  No,  only  one  of  us,"  said  Mark  with  a  laugh, 
as  he  and  Jack  ran  toward  the  wagon. 

"  Ha !  Ha !  Dat's  one  ob  yo'  jokes,"  said 
Washington.  "  But  hurry  up,  boys.  De  perfes- 
sor  he  done  sent  me  to  meet  you.  He  reckoned 
you'd  becomin'  ober  on  an  early  trolley.  He's  in 
a  hurry  to  git  away." 

"  Don't  you  boys  dare  to  leave !  "  exclaimed 
Detective  Ducket. 

"Who's  dat?"  asked  Washington. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Mark.  "  He  was  hurt 
in  the  trolley  smash,  but  not  badly.  We'll  send 
help  from  the  first  farm  house  we  come  to.  Come 
on,  Washington,  we'll  go  with  you." 

The  boys  jumped  into  the  wagon,  and  Wash- 
ington started  off.  He  explained  that  the  inven- 
tor was  anxious  to  make  a  start  that  day,  as  there 
would  be  an  unusually  high  tide  which  would  be 
followed  a  little  later  by  a  low  one,  and  that 
would  make  it  difficult  to  cross  the  harbor  bar. 

"  So  I  hired  dis  wagon  an'  come  after  you," 
said  the  colored  man. 

At  the  first  house  they  came  to  the  boys  stopped 
and  told  about  the  accident.  The  farmer  agreed 
to  go  and  get  the  detective  and  the  others  who 
were  hurt  and  take  them  to  a  hospital. 

"  I  guess  we're  rid  of  that  detective  now,"  ob- 
served Jack,  as  they  started  off  again. 


54  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  Yes,  but  we're  getting  away  under  a  cloud  on 
our  characters,"  said  Mark.  u  I'd  like  to  stay 
and  see  the  thing  through,  if  we  had  time." 

"  But  we  can't,  and  there's  no  use  worrying 
over  it,"  spoke  Jack. 

In  a  short  time  they  were  at  the  inventor's 
cabin,  and  related  to  Mr.  Henderson  all  that  had 
occurred. 

"  Well  I  guess  your  detective  friend  will  have 
a  hard  time  to  find  you  in  a  few  hours,"  said  the 
old  man.  "  We  start  on  our  trip  for  the  south 
pole  this  evening." 

There  were  busy  times  for  the  next  few  hours. 
Many  supplies  had  to  be  placed  on  board,  and, 
while  the  boys,  with  Tom  and  Bill,  saw  to  this 
the  professor  and  Washington  were  occupied  with 
putting  the  last  touches  to  the  submarine  boat's 
machinery. 

Most  of  the  supplies  from  the  cabin  were  placed 
in  the  Porpoise,  including  food  and  clothing  and 
a  good  quantity  of  minerals  that,  with  sea  water, 
generated  the  gas  that  made  steam. 

An  early  supper  was  made  on  shore,  as  the 
professor  said  they  might  be  so  busy  for  the  firsfc 
few  hours  of  the  starting  trip  that  they  would 
get  no  chance  to  eat.  Then  the  cabin  and  build- 
ings where  the  submarine  had  been  built,  were 
securely  fastened. 


OFF  FOR  THE  SOUTH  POLE  55 

"  I  guess  we're  all  ready,"  announced  the  pro- 
fessor, taking  a  last  look  around. 

One  by  one  they  went  aboard  the  Porpoise 
crawling  down  through  the  man  hole.  The  inven- 
tor was  the  last  one  to  enter.  He  clamped  the 
cover  on  by  means  of  the  cam  levers  and  switched 
on  the  electric  lights.  Then  he  took  his  place  in 
the  conning  tower  with  Andy  Sudds. 

"  Forward,  to  the  South  Pole !  "  exclaimed  Mr. 
Henderson. 

With  a  turn  of  his  wrist  the  inventor  started 
the  engines.  The  big  screw  in  the  shaft  revolved, 
pulling  the  water  in  at  one  end  of  the  craft  and 
sending  it  out  in  a  swirling  stream  at  the  other. 
The  trip  was  fairly  begun. 

For  several  miles  the  Porpoise  glided  along  on 
the  surface  of  the  ocean.  It  was  a  calm  evening, 
and  the  boys  down  in  the  cabin  of  the  craft  could 
look  into  the  reflecting  mirrors  on  the  wall,  which 
were  connected  with  observation  magnifying 
glasses  in  the  conning  tower,  and  view  what  was 
going  on,  though  their  heads  were  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  sea. 

As  it  grew  darker  the  view  of  shore  and  water 
faded  away.  The  engine  kept  up  its  speed  with 
Washington  to  see  to  it  every  now  and  then,  oil- 
ing the  bearings,  some  of  which  did  not  run  quite 
smoothly  because  of  their  newness. 


56  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  I'll  send  her  down  a  bit  now,"  observed  the 
professor.  "  I  don't  want  to  run  into  any  more 
warships  or  scare  the  crews  by  making  them  think 
we  are  a  foreign  torpedo  boat." 

He  opened  the  sea  cocks  in  the  ballast  tanks 
and  soon  the  Porpoise  sunk  about  two  hundred 
feet  beneath  the  waves.  The  craft,  which  had 
been  pitching  and  tossing  under  the  influence  of 
a  ground  swell,  became  more  steady  and  quiet 
once  it  left  the  surface. 

The  searchlight  in  the  conning  tower  was 
turned  on,  and  in  the  glare  of  it  Andy  and  the 
professor  were  able  to  stear  properly,  aided  by 
the  compass  which  gave  them  the  true  southern 
course. 

It  was  now  quite  dark.  Additional  electric 
lights  were  switched  on  in  the  cabin,  engine  and 
dining  room.  Andy  came  out  of  the  conning 
tower  and  announced  that  Captain  Henderson 
wanted  Washington  to  get  supper. 

All  the  cooking  was  done  by  electricity,  and, 
in  addition  to  a  supply  of  the  usual  and  ordinary 
kinds  of  food,  there  was  a  big  lot  of  patent  con- 
densed victuals  to  draw  on.  Soup,  broiled  steak, 
potatoes,  hot  biscuits,  rice  pudding  and  coffee  made 
up  the  repast  which  was  enjoyed  by  all. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  meal  Professor  Hen- 
derson began  to  sniff  the  air  of  the  cabin. 


OFF  FOR  THE  SOUTH  POLE  57 

"  What's  the  matter?  Do  you  smell  a  storm 
brewing?  "  asked  Andy. 

"  No,  but  the  air  is  not  as  fresh  as  it  should 
be,"  replied  the  inventor.  "  Washington,  release 
a  little  more  of  the  supply  from  the  compression 
tanks." 

The  ship,  which  had  been  left  to  steer  itself 
automatically  while  the  professor  was  absent  from 
the  conning  tower,  was  moving  along  at  about 
half  speed.  The  gage  showed  they  were  going  at 
twenty  miles  an  hour,  and  were  three  hundred  feet 
below  the  surface. 

"  Washington  and  I  will  share  the  first  night's 
watch  between  us,"  said  the  inventor,  after  the 
supper  things  had  been  cleared  away.  '  There 
will  not  be  much  to  do,  as  the  ship  will  stear 
automatically  in  whatever  direction  I  set  her. 
Still  I  want  to  see  how  she  behaves.  The  rest 
of  you  might  as  well  go  to  your  bunks." 

The  two  boys  were  especially  glad  of  a  chance 
to  go  to  bed,  as  they  had  had  but  little  sleep  the 
night  before  on  account  of  the  fire.  So  they  lost 
no  time  in  undressing  and  rolling  up  in  the 
blankets,  for  it  was  quite  cool  so  far  down  under 
the  water. 

'  Well,  we've  slept  on  the  earth,  above  the 
earth  and  now  we're  under  the  waters,"  observed 
Jack. 


58  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  There's  only  one  place  more  to  spend  your 
time  taking  a  snooze,"  said  Mark. 

"Where's  that?" 

"  Inside  the  earth." 

Then  they  fell  asleep.  During  the  night  and 
the  next  day  the  Porpoise  forged  on  underneath 
the  waves.  Washington  relieved  Mr.  Henderson 
in  the  conning  tower  and  reported  the  machinery 
to  be  working  well. 

"  Keep  her  headed  due  south,"  was  the  order 
of  the  inventor,  and  the  colored  man  did  so. 

It  was  about  four  o'clock  one  morning  that 
Washington  felt  a  slight  jar  to  the  submarine. 

"  Hope  we  ain't  goin'  to  hit  no  more  battle- 
ships," he  said. 

He  glanced  at  the  speed-indicating  gage.  To 
his  surprise  it  stood  at  zero.  The  craft  was  not 
moving  forward  a  foot!  Yet  the  engines  were 
going  at  half  speed ! 

In  great  alarm  Washington  shut  off  the  power 
and  ran  to  acquaint  Professor  Henderson  with  the 
news. 

"  Suffin's  ketched  us!"  cried  the  colored  man. 

"  Nonsense !  "  said  the  inventor,  yet  he  seemed 
alarmed  as  he  slipped  on  his  clothes  and  hastened 
to  the  conning  tower. 

He  peered  ahead  along  the  path  of  water 
illuminated  by  the  glare  of  the  searchlight,  but 


OFF  FOR  THE  SOUTH  POLE  59 

nothing  was  to  be  seen.  Then  he  started  the  en- 
gine, increasing  the  speed  gradually  until  the  big 
screw  in  the  shaft  revolved  more  than  one  thous- 
and times  a  minute;  Still  the  Porpoise  never 
stirred.  She  remained  in  the  same  position,  as 
if  some  giant  hand  grasped  her. 

"  Reverse  the  engine,"  said  the  professor. 

Washington  did  so.  To  the  surprise  of  both  of 
them  the  ship  shot  backward  like  a  frightened 
crab. 

"Now  forward!"  exclaimed  the  old  inventor. 

But  this  time  the  Porpoise  did  not  move.  It 
was  as  if  she  was  up  against  a  stone  wall. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Mark,  who  had 
been  awakened  by  the  excitement  on  board. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  replied  Mr.  Henderson 
gravely.  "  Something  mysterious  has  occurred. 
We  can  go  no  further !  " 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ASHORE  IN  THE  DARK 

"  STOP  the  engine,"  the  captain  commanded 
after  he  had  peered  through  the  lens  in  the  conning 
tower  for  some  time.  "  We  must  see  what  is  the 
matter." 

He  glanced  at  the  depth  gage  and  noted  that 
they  were  now  four  hundred  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. Then  he  consulted  some  charts. 

"  There  is  a  depth  of  one  thousand  feet  about 
here,"  he  remarked.  "  Lower  the  ship,  Wash- 
ington. Let  us  see  if  by  getting  on  the  ocean  bed 
we  can  get  away  from  this  obstruction." 

The  colored  man  opened  wider  the  sea  cocks 
by  which  the  tanks  were  filled.  The  increased 
ballast  sunk  the  Porpoise  still  lower,  and,  in  a  few 
minutes  a  slight  jar  told  the  navigators  that  they 
were  on  the  bottom  of  the  ocean. 

"  Now  we  will  see  if  we  have  cleared  the  ob- 
struction," said  the  professor. 

He  started  the  big  screw  to  revolving,  but  the 
ship  did  not  move.  It  shivered  and  trembled 
throughout  its  length  but  remained  stationary. 

60 


ASHORE  IN  THE  DARK  61 

"  Maybe  dar's  a  debil  fish  what  hab  circumulated 
dis  ship  in  de  exteror  portion  ob  his  anatomy," 
suggested  Washington,  rolling  his  eyes  until  only 
the  whites  were  visible. 

"  I  presume  you  mean  that  a  giant  squid  or 
cuttle  fish  has  attacked  us,"  spoke  the  professor. 

"  Yas,  sir,"  replied  Washington. 

"  That's  nonsense,"  went  on  the  inventor. 
"  However,  we  must  make  an  investigation." 

"  How  are  you  going  to  do  it?  "  asked  Mark. 
"  You  can't  see  the  end  of  the  tube  from  inside 
the  ship,  and,  even  if  we  went  to  the  surface  it 
would  still  be  under  water." 

'  We  are  going  to  look  at  it  while  here,  under 
the  ocean,"  said  the  inventor. 

'  Well,  maybe  you're  a  good  swimmer,"  put  in 
Jack,  "  but  I  don't  believe  you  can  stay  under,  in 
this  depth  of  water,  long  enough  to  see  what  the 
trouble  is." 

"  I  think  I  can,"  answered  Mr.  Henderson. 

"How?" 

"  I'll  show  you.  Washington,  bring  out  the 
diving  suits." 

The  colored  man,  his  eyes  growing  bigger  every 
minute,  went  to  a  locker  and  brought  out  what 
seemed  quite  a  complicated  bit  of  apparatus. 

'  With  the  aid  of  these,"  said  the  professor,  "  I 
will  be  able  to  go  out,  walk  along  the  ocean  bed, 


62  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

and  investigate  the  mystery.     Do  you  boys  want 
to  come  along  ?  " 

"  Is  it  safe?  "  asked  Mark,  who  was  inclined  to 
be  cautious. 

"  As  safe  as  any  part  of  this  under-sea  voyage," 
replied  the  professor.  "  These  diving  suits  are 
something  I  have  not  told  you  about,"  he  went 
on.  "They  are  my  own  invention.  Besides  the 
regular  rubber  suits  there  is  an  interlining  of  steel, 
1 —  something  like  the  ancient  suits  of  chain  mail  — 
to  withstand  the  great  pressure  of  water.  Then, 
instead  of  being  dependent  on  a  supply  of  air, 
pumped  into  the  helmet  from  an  apparatus  in  a 
boat  on  the  surface,  each  person  carries  his  own 
air  supply  with  him." 

"How  is  that?"  asked  Jack,  and  Mark  also 
asked  the  question. 

"  Simply  by  attaching  a  little  tank  of  the  com- 
pressed gas  to  the  shoulder  piece  of  the  suit," 
said  the  inventor.  "  There  is  enough  air  in  the 
tank  to  last  for  nearly  a  day.  It  is  admitted  to 
the  helmet  as  needed  by  means  of  automatic 
valves.  In  other  respects  the  diving  suit  is  the 
same  as  the  ordinary  kind,  except  that  there  is  a 
small  searchlight,  fed  by  a  storage  battery,  on  top 
of  the  helmet." 

In  spite  of  their  fears  at  venturing  out  under 
the  great  ocean,  the  two  boys  were  anxious  to 


ASHORE  IN  THE  DARK  63 

try  the  suits.  So,  after  some  hesitation,  they 
donned  them. 

"  Here,  take  these  with  you,"  said  the  pro- 
fessor, before  their  helmet  were  screwed  on. 
He  held  out  what  looked  like  long  sticks. 

"  What  are  they?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  Electric  guns,"  replied  the  professor.  "  But 
come  on  now,  we  have  no  time  to  lose." 

Further  conversation  was  impossible,  for  the 
boys  had  their  heavy  copper  helmets  on,  and  they 
were  as  tightly  enclosed  as  if  inside  a  box.  They 
grasped  their  weapons  and  waited  for  the  next 
move. 

The  professor  led  the  way  to  the  stern  of  the 
ship.  The  boys  found  it  hard  to  walk,  as  they 
were  weighted  down  by  the  heavy  suits,  and  also 
the  boots,  the  soles  of  which  were  of  lead. 

They  followed  the  inventor  into  what  seemed 
a  small  room.  Inside  they  found  themselves  in 
darkness.  There  was  a  clanking  sound  as  Wash- 
ington fastened  and  clamped  the  door  shut.  Then 
came  a  hissing. 

The  boys  felt  water  rising  about  them.  They 
could  experience  its  coldness,  even  through  the 
diving  suits.  They  were  much  afraid,  but  the 
professor  put  a  reassuring  hand  on  their  shoulders. 

They  seemed  to  feel  a  great  weight.  It  grad- 
ually lessened,  however,  and,  in  a  few  minutes,  they 


64  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

saw  something  move  in  front  of  them.  The  pro- 
fessor pushed  them  gently  forward. 

In  another  instant  they  were  walking  on  the 
bed  of  the  ocean,  having  stepped  from  the 
Porpoise.  They  had  gone  into  a  locked  com- 
partment, the  inner  door  of  which  had  been 
tightly  closed,  after  which  water  from  outside  had 
been  gradually  admitted  until  the  pressure  was 
equal,  and  then  the  boys  and  the  professor  had 
merely  to  emerge  out  into  the  bottom  of  the  sea 
when  the  outer  portal  was  swung  aside  by  Wash- 
ington, who  worked  the  lever  from  inside. 

The  boys  were  in  intense  darkness,  but,  sud- 
denly a  light  glowed  about  them,  and  they  saw 
that  the  professor  had  switched  on  his  miniature 
search  lamp.  They  remembered  how  he  had  told 
them  to  work  the  apparatus,  and  soon  tiny  gleams 
shot  out  from  their  helmets. 

The  professor  pointed  ahead,  for  not  a  sound 
could  be  heard,  and  the  boys  followed  him. 

It  was  a  new  sensation,  this  walking  along  the 
bed  of  the  ocean.  At  first  the  great  pressure  of 
water,  even  though  the  steel  lined  diving  suits  kept 
most  of  it  off,  was  unpleasant.  Gradually,  how- 
ever, the  boys  became  used  to  it.  They  had  to 
move  slowly,  for  the  water  was  denser  than  the 
air  and  impeded  their  progress. 

In  a   few  minutes  they  reached   the   forward 


ASHORE  IN  THE  DARK  65 

end  of  the  Porpoise.  Now  they  were  to  solve 
the  mystery  of  what  had  stopped  the  submarine. 
For  a  few  moments  they  could  distinguish  noth- 
ing. 

Suddenly  the  boys  felt  the  professor  grasping 
their  arms.  They  looked  in  the  direction  he 
pointed.  There  in  the  diffused  glare  from  the 
search  light  and  the  illumination  of  their  helmet 
lamps  they  saw,  wrapped  about  the  forward  shaft 
opening  a  gigantic  squid  or  devil  fish.  Its  soft, 
jelly-like  body  completely  covered  the  opening  of 
the  shaft  preventing  any  water  from  entering,  and 
thus  stopping  any  forward  motion  to  the  ship. 

This  was  what  had  caused  all  the  trouble.  The 
Porpoise  had  run  into  the  monster,  who  feeling 
what  it  must  have  thought  an  enemy,  had  grasped 
the  submarine  with  its  long  sinuous  arms. 

The  professor  hesitated  a  moment.  Then  he 
slowly  raised  his  electrical  gun,  and  took  aim  at 
the  hideous  mass.  The  boys  followed  his  ex- 
ample. At  Mr.  Henderson's  signal  they  all  fired 
together. 

From  the  muzzles  of  the  guns  darted  small 
barbs  that  carried  with  them  a  strong  shock  of 
electricity,  from  storage  batteries  in  the  shoulder 
pieces  of  the  weapons.  Three  of  them  were 
enough  to  produce  death  in  an  animal  as  large  as 
a  whale. 


66  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

The  devil  fish  quivered.  Then  the  water  about 
it  suddenly  grew  black,  and  the  boys  and  the  pro- 
fessor were  in  dense  darkness,  for  the  squid  had 
dyed  the  ocean  with  a  dark  liquid  from  the  sack 
it  carried  for  the  purpose. 

The  explorers  groped  their  way  to  the  left, 
having  fortunately  grasped  hands  after  firing  their 
guns,  to  prevent  being  separated  in  case  the  ter- 
rible fish  began  a  death  struggle. 

Luckily  Professor  Henderson  went  in  the  right 
direction  and  managed  to  locate  the  Porpoise. 
Then,  feeling  along  her  steel  sides,  he  led  the 
boys  through  the  inky  blackness  to  the  water  cham- 
ber by  which  entrance  could  be  had  to  the  interior. 

In  a  few  minutes  all  three  were  safely  inside 
and  had  removed  their  diving  suits.  The  others 
crowded  about,  anxious  to  learn  what  had  hap- 
pened. The  inventor  related  it  briefly. 

Once  more  the  engines  were  started.  This 
time  there  was  no  hanging  back  on  the  part  of 
the  Porpoise.  The  big  screw  revolved,  the  water 
came  in  the  shaft  and  was  thrust  out  of  the  rear 
end,  making  a  current  that  sent  the  craft  ahead 
swiftly.  The  gigantic  fish  had  been  killed,  and 
its  body  no  longer  obstructed  progress. 

"  Now  we'll  rise  to  the  surface  and  see  how  it 
feels  to  sail  along  that  way  for  a  while,"  said  the 
professor  as  he  started  the  pumps  that  emptied 


ASHORE  IN  THE  DARK  67 

the  tanks.  In  a  little  while  the  ship  was  floating 
on  the  waves. 

It  was  now  night,  and  the  clouds  overhead  made 
it  so  dark  that  it  was  hard  to  see  ten  feet  in  ad- 
vance. The  professor  did  not  want  to  use  the 
searchlight  for  he  did  not  care  to  have  his  pres- 
ence discovered  by  curious  persons.  So  he  ran 
the  ship  at  half  speed. 

;'  Where  are  we  now?  "  asked  Mark,  who  had 
entered  the  conning  tower,  where  the  professor 
was  stearing. 

"  Somewhere's  off  the  coast  of  South  Carolina," 
replied  the  inventor. 

The  next  instant  there  was  a  sudden  shock  and 
jar.  The  ship  quivered  from  stem  to  stern,  and 
came  to  an  abrupt  stop. 

"  We've  hit  something !  "  exclaimed  the  pro- 
fessor, shutting  down  the  engines  with  a  jerk  of 
the  lever. 


CHAPTER  IX 

A  PRICE  ON  THEIR  HEADS 

ON  board  the  Porpoise  there  was  great  excite- 
ment. Washington,  with  Andy,  Tom,  Bill  and 
Jack  came  running  from  the  engine  room. 

"What  is  it?"  cried  Jack. 

"  I  don't  know,"  answered  the  professor  as 
calmly  as  he  could.  "  We'll  soon  see,  however." 

He  switched  on  the  searchlight  and  peered  from 
the  conning  tower. 

"Can  you  see  anything?"  asked  Andy, 
anxiously. 

"  I  can,"  announced  the  inventor. 

"What?" 

"  Land,"  replied  Mr.  Henderson.  "  We've  hit 
the  coast." 

"  I  hope  we  ain't  done  no  damage,"  put  in 
Washington. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  the  coast  or  to  us?  "  asked 
the  professor,  with  a  smile.  "  I  guess  there  isn't 
much  danger  in  ramming  the  shore  excepting  to 
the  Porpoise.  However,  we  do  not  seem  to  be 
in  any  immediate  trouble." 

68 


A  PRICE  ON  THEIR  HEADS  69 

He  tested  various  wheels  and  levers,  and  an- 
nounced that,  aside  from  the  jar,  which  might  have 
started  some  of  the  machinery,  the  Porpoise  was 
unharmed. 

The  cover  of  the  man-hole  was  loosened  and, 
one  after  another,  the  adventurers  crawled  out 
on  the  small  deck  or  platform.  It  took  them  a 
little  while  to  become  accustomed  to  the  darkness, 
but  soon  they  were  able  to  make  out  that  they 
had  run  on  the  muddy  bank  of  the  ocean  beach. 
The  tide  was  low  and  the  Porpoise  had  rammed 
her  nose  well  into  the  soft  muck,  which  accounted 
for  the  lack  of  damage. 

"  Well,  I  guess  there  is  nothing  to  do  except- 
ing to  wait  for  morning,"  said  Mr.  Henderson. 
"  It  doesn't  look  like  a  very  lively  neighborhood 
about  here.  I  don't  believe  we'll  be  disturbed." 

Save  for  the  splash  and  lapping  of  the  waves 
and  the  sound  of  the  wind,  it  was  as  quiet  as  the 
proverbial  graveyard.  Not  a  light  showed  on 
shore,  and  the  gleam  from  the  search  lamp  of  the 
Porpoise  cut  the  darkness  like  a  small  moonbeam. 

"If  there's  nothing  to  do  I'm  going  to  turn 
in,"  said  Andy.  "  I'm  tired." 

The  professor  said  this  was  a  good  suggestion, 
and,  leaving  instructions  that  Washington  and 
Bill  were  to  divide  the  night's  watch  between  them, 
the  inventor  sought  his  bunk. 


70  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

The  boys  remained  on  deck  a  few  minutes 
longer. 

"  We  certainly  are  getting  our  share  of  adven- 
tures," remarked  Jack. 

"  I  should  say  so,"  answered  Mark. 

"  Gollyation  yes !  "  exclaimed  Washington. 
"  You-uns  done  most  been  eat  by  dat  air  koslos- 
trous  specimen  ob  a  parralleledon !  I'm  glad  I 
didn't  go.  But  I'se  brave  enough !  " 

"What's  that?"  asked  Mark  suddenly,  point- 
ing to  an  object  floating  on  the  water. 

Washington  turned  to  behold  something  white 
drifting  along. 

"  Oh  my  good  land  ob  mercy  1  It's  a  ghost!  " 
the  colored  man  yelled.  "It's  a  ghost!  Land 
a'  massy !  Hide  me  some  where,  quick !  " 

Washington  fell  on  his  knees  and  stretched  up 
his  clasped  hands  in  supplication.  The  boys 
gazed  curiously  at  the  white  object  that  was  slowly 
floating  toward  the  stranded  ship. 

It  rose  and  fell  on  the  waves,  with  an  odd  mo- 
tion. 

"  I  wonder  what  it  is,"  said  Mark. 

"  We'll  soon  see,"  spoke  Jack.  "  It's  coming 
this  way." 

"  Don't  go  near  it !  Don't  touch  it,  boys  I  " 
pleaded  Washington.  "  It'll  put  de  evil  eye  on 
yo',  suah !  Turn  yo'  haids  away  I  " 


A  PRICE  ON  THEIR  HEADS  71 

But  the  boys  were  not  so  easily  frightened. 
The  white  thing  did  look  queer,  but  Jack  reasoned 
correctly  that  the  darkness  of  the  night  magnified 
it,  and  made  it  appear  stranger  than  it  probably 
was. 

"  I'm  going  to  try  to  get  it,"  said  Mark. 

The  white  thing  was  now  quite  close.  It  re- 
sembled a  bundle  of  rags,  floating  on  top  of  the 
water,  and,  as  it  came  nearer,  it  seemed  to  take 
.on  a  curious  form. 

"  It's  a  baby !  It's  de  ghost  ob  a  little  dead 
baby!  "  cried  the  colored  man.  "  Let  it  alone,  I 
tell  you!" 

Indeed,  now  that  Washington  had  suggested 
it,  the  boys  could  see  a  resemblance  to  a  child  in 
the  white  object.  But  this  did  not  deter  them. 
Jack  secured  a  boat  hook  from  where  it  was  fast- 
ened to  the  platform.  With  it  he  gently  poked 
at  the  white  thing.  The  object  seemed  to  collapse 
and  Jack  was  conscious  of  a  strange  feeling. 
Then,  with  slow  motions,  he  drew  it  close  to  the 
side  of  the  ship. 

Lying  on  his  face  he  was  able  to  get  a  good 
look  at  the  thing.  He  muttered  an  exclamation. 

"  What  is  it?"  cried  Mark. 

"Nothing  but  a  newspaper!  "  announced  Jack 
with  a  laugh,  as  he  threw  it  on  the  deck.  "  All 
our  trouble  for  nothing." 


72  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  I  shore  thought  it  were  a  ghost,"  cried  Wash- 
ington as  he  got  up  from  his  knees. 

The  boys  went  to  their  bunks.  They  were  the 
first  ones  awake  the  next  morning,  and  Jack  fol- 
lowed Mark  on  deck. 

"  There's  the  paper  you  rescued  from  drown- 
ing," said  Mark. 

"  So  it  is,"  came  from  Jack.  "  I  wonder  if 
there's  any  news  in  it." 

The  sheet  had  dried  out  and  Jack  spread  it 
open.  No  sooner  had  he  scanned  the  first  page 
than  he  uttered  a  whistle. 

"Something  startling?"  asked  Mark. 

"  Startling !     I  guess  yes !     Look  here !  " 

Mark  looked  over  Jack's  shoulder.  Staring 
at  them,  from  amid  a  mass  of  other  news  was  the 
announcement  in  big  black  type : 

REWARD  FOR  BOY  ANARCHISTS! 

Then  followed  an  account  of  the  burning  of 
the  hotel  at  Easton,  a  vivid  description  with 
pictures,  of  how  it  had  been  blown  up  in  an  at- 
tempt to  assasinate  Lord  Peckham,  and  how  the 
two  boys,  sons  of  an  English  anarchist,  had  es- 
caped. 

The  rest  of  the  story  was  given  over  to  a  de- 
scription which  Jack  and  Mark  could  see  was 


A  PRICE  ON  THEIR  HEADS  73 

meant  for  them  though  it  was  incorrect  in  several 
particulars.  How  the  boys  had  escaped  the  de- 
tective, through  the  trolley  car  mishap,  was  related, 
and  then  came  the  startling  announcement  that 
the  hotel  authorities  had  offered  a  reward  of 
$  1,000  for  the  capture  of  either  or  both  of  the 
boy  anarchists.  To  this  Lord  Peckham  had  added 
an  equal  sum. 

"  Well,  it  looks  as  if  we  were  of  some  impor- 
tance in  the  world,"  remarked  Jack. 

"  Rather,"  agreed  Mark.  "  Think  of  having 
a  price  on  our  heads!  Well,  that  detective  cer- 
tainly is  a  hustler.  When  is  that  paper  dated?  " 

Jack  looked  and  saw  that  the  sheet  had  been 
issued  in  Charleston  the  day  previous.  It  had 
probably  been  thrown  overboard  from  some 
steamer,  and  had  drifted  toward  shore. 

While  the  boys  were  speculating  over  the  mat- 
ter Professor  Henderson  came  on  deck.  He  saw 
something  was  up,  and  soon  had  the  whole  story 
from  the  boys. 

"  I  shouldn't  worry  about  it,"  said  the  inventor. 
'  They've  got  to  catch  you  first,  and  it  isn't  like 
running  away  when  you  know  you  are  guilty.  You 
boys  had  no  more  to  do  with  the  fire  than  the  man 
in  the  moon.  And  we'll  soon  be  beyond  the  reach 
of  rewards  and  newspapers." 

Nevertheless,  the  boys  brooded  over  the  mat- 


74  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

ter.  It  seemed  that  they  were  still  under  a  cloud, 
and  they  wished  very  much  that  it  could  be  cleared 
away. 

However  there  were  soon  busy  times.  The 
rising  tide  floated  the  boat,  and  soon  it  was  rid- 
ing safely  at  anchor.  The  professor  needed  some 
small  bits  of  machinery,  and  had  decided  to  send 
the  boys  to  the  nearest  town  for  them.  But  the 
news  in  the  paper  changed  his  plans,  and  he  sent 
Bill  and  Washington,  who  soon  returned  with  the 
needed  articles. 

"  Now  we'll  make  another  start,"  said  Mr. 
Henderson,  as  soon  as  all  were  on  board  once 
more.  "  This  time  I  hope  we  will  keep  on  until 
we  reach  the  south  pole!  " 

He  started  the  engine,  the  Porpoise  sank  be- 
neath the  waves,  and  with  a  hum  of  the  big  screw 
that  throbbed  and  vibrated,  was  away  again. 


CHAPTER  X 

ATTACKED  BY  A  MONSTER 

FOR  several  days  the  Porpoise  plowed  her  way 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  Obedient  to 
the  directing  hand  of  Professor  Henderson  she 
rose  or  sank  as  the  tanks  were  emptied  or  filled. 
He  put  the  craft  through  several  rather  difficult 
movements  to  test  her  under  all  conditions.  In 
each  one  she  was  a  success. 

Dinner  was  sometimes  eaten  five  hundred  feet 
below  the  surface.  Then  while  Washington 
washed  the  dishes  and  cleaned  up  the  galley,  Jack 
and  Mark  looked  from  the  side  windows  at  the 
strange  life  under  water. 

They  were  getting  farther  south  now  and  the 
water  was  warmer  as  the  equator  was  approached. 
This  produced  a  great  variety  of  animal  life,  and 
the  ocean  fairly  swarmed  with  fishes,  big  and  lit- 
tle, strange  and  curious  that  could  be  seen  from 
the  glass  bull's-eyes. 

Great  sharks  swam  up  alongside  of  the  Porpoise^ 
keeping  pace  with  her  in  spite  of  her  speed. 
Their  cruel  tigerish  eyes  and  ugly  mouths  made 

75 


76  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

the  boys  shudder  as  they  looked  at  the  creatures. 
Then  came  odd  creatures  that  seemed  neither  of 
the  land  or  sea,  but  which  swam  along  with  their 
horrible  bodies  flapping  up  against  the  glass. 
One  and  all,  the  inhabitants  of  the  ocean  seemed 
to  resent  the  intrusion  of  the  submarine. 

One  day  the  boys  turned  the  light  out  in  the 
cabin  and  sat  in  the  darkness  the  better  to  observe 
the  fishes.  The  sea,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  ship, 
was  illuminated  with  a  sort  of  glow  that  diffused 
from  the  searchlight. 

Suddenly,  as  the  boys  were  watching,  there  came 
a  thud  on  the  glass  window  at  the  port  side.  They 
glanced  in  that  direction  to  see  some  horrible 
thing  peering  in  at  them  through  the  window. 

At  first  they  were  greatly  frightened.  Two 
big  eyes  of  green,  with  rims  of  what  looked  like 
red  fire,  stared  at  them,  and,  there  was  an  ugly 
mouth  lined  with  three  rows  of  teeth. 

"  It's  only  a  fish,"  said  Mark. 

"  Well,  I  wouldn't  like  to  meet  it  outside," 
said  Jack.  "  I'd  rather  be  here.  My,  but  it's 
a  nasty  sight !  " 

"  Let's  give  Washington  a  little  scare,"  sug- 
gested Mark. 

"How?" 

"  We'll  go  out  and  tell  him  some  one  in  the 
cabin  want's  to  see  him.  The  fish  will  stay  there. 


ATTACKED  BY  A  MONSTER  77 

See,  it  is  fastened  to  the  glass  by  some  sort  of 
suction  arrangement,  like  the  octupus  fish  have 
on  their  arms.  Then  we'll  look  in  and  see  what 
Wash  does." 

Jack  agreed  to  the  plan.  The  boys  left  the 
cabin,  and  Mark  called  to  the  colored  man,  who 
was  in  the  engine  room. 

"  I'll  go  right  instanter  this  minute,"  said 
Washington.  "  Don't  no  grass  grow  under  dis 
chile's  feet!" 

"  Now  listen,"  said  Mark  as  he  and  Jack  tip- 
toed after  the  colored  man. 

Washington  had  no  sooner  entered  the  darkened 
cabin,  and  caught  sight  of  the  horrible  staring  red 
and  green  eyes  looking  straight  at  him,  than  he  let 
out  a  yell  that  could  be  heard  all  over  the  ship. 
Then  the  colored  man  dropped  on  his  knees  and 
began  to  implore : 

"  Good  please  Mr.  Satan  fish,  doan  take  Wash- 
ington White,"  he  begged.  "  It's  all  a  mistake.  I 
didn't  do  nuffin.  Good  please  Mr.  Satan  fish,  take 
some  one  else.  It's  disproportionate  to  de  circum- 
ulation  ob  de  interiorness  ob  dis  subicecream  ship, 
so  kindly  pass  me  by  dis  time !  " 

;|  What's  the  matter?  "  asked  Amos  Henderson, 
as  he  came  hurrying  into  the  cabin,  seeking  the 
cause  for  Washington's  loud  cry. 

Jack  and  Mark,  who  came  in  at  that  juncture, 


78  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

were  a  little  bit  ashamed  of  the  trick  they  had 
played. 

"  What  is  the  trouble?  "  repeated  Mr.  Hender- 
son. 

"  We's  all  goin'  to  be  devoured  alibe !  "  cried 
Washington  pointing  to  the  fish,  that  still  clung 
to  the  glass. 

"  Ah,  a  sucker  fish !  "  remarked  the  inventor. 
"  A  large  specimen,  too.  Don't  be  afraid  Wash- 
ington, it  can't  hurt  you." 

"  He  looks  like  he  could,"  said  the  colored  man. 
"Look  at  dem  teef!  " 

Indeed  the  creature's  mouth  was  a  horrible  sight, 
as  it  opened  and  shut. 

"  I'll  show  you  how  to  get  rid  of  him,"  said  the 
professor. 

He  turned  on  the  electric  lights  in  the  cabin, 
flooding  the  room  with  a  bright  glow.  The  big 
fish  darted  off,  and,  when  the  lights  were  turned 
out  again,  the  terrible  eyes  did  not  reappear,  much 
to  their  satisfaction. 

"  The  lights  scared  it  away,"  remarked  the  in- 
ventor. "  But  you  mustn't  get  frightened  so 
easily,  Washington.  You'll  see  stranger  sights 
than  that  before  you're  through  with  this  voy- 
age. 

"  Oh  I  wasn't  'fraid,"  spoke  up  Washington. 
"  I  were  jest  'stonished,  dat's  all." 


ATTACKED  BY  A  MONSTER  79 

"  What  did  you  get  down  on  your  knees  for?  " 
asked  Mark  with  a  grin. 

"  I  might  hab  been  lookin'  for  my  collar  button, 
for  all  you  knows,"  replied  Washington,  with  an 
air  of  great  dignity,  and  went  back  to  the  engine 
room. 

For  several  days  after  this  the  Porpoise  con- 
tinued on  her  way  south.  Now  and  then  appear- 
ing on  the  surface  to  renew  the  supply  of  fresh 
air,  and  again  skimming  along  under  the  surface, 
or  deep  down,  the  strange  craft  kept  on.  It  grew 
much  warmer,  and  even  when  some  distance  below 
the  surface  the  heat  could  be  felt  in  an  uncom- 
fortable manner. 

"  We're  getting  near  the  equator,"  explained  the 
professor. 

One  afternoon,  when  dinner  had  just  been  fin- 
ished, and  the  ship,  under  the  direction  of  Wash- 
ington, was  gliding  along  well  under  the  sea,  there 
came  a  sudden  shock. 

"We've  hit  something!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Hen- 
derson as  he  jumped  for  the  conning  tower.  The 
shock  was  repeated. 

''  What  was  it?  "  asked  someone. 

"  Shut  down  the  engine !  "  yelled  the  inventor  to 
the  colored  man.  "  What  do  you  want  to  go  on 
ramming  an  object  after  you've  once  hit  it?  Slow 
down  the  engine !  " 


8o  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  Power's  shut  off  I  "  cried  Washington.  "  We 
didn't  hit  nothin' !  Something  hit  us !  " 

"  What  do  you  mean?  "  asked  Mr.  Henderson. 

"  Somethin's  rammin'  us,"  went  on  Washington. 

"  It  must  be  a  big  monster.  I  was  sterrin'  alon^ 
an'  there  was  nothin'  in  de  road,  when  all  of  a  sud- 
dint,  ker-plunk !  We's  hit.  Look  ahead,  an'  you 
can't  see  nothin' !  " 

The  professor,  and  the  boys,  who  had  followed 
him,  gazed  out  of  the  conning  tower  window. 
There  was  nothing  forward  but  a  vast  expanse  of 
water. 

The  next  instant  the  ship  careened  as  something 
struck  her  a  violent  blow  on  the  port  side.  Every- 
one almost  toppled  over  from  the  force  of  the  im- 
pact. 

"  Dar  he  goes  agin !  "  cried  Washington. 

"  We're  attacked  by  a  whale!  "  said  the  profes- 
sor. "  We  must  rise  to  the  surface  or  it  may  dam- 
age the  ship." 

"  If  it's  a  whale  I'd  like  to  get  a  shot  at  it,"  put 
in  Andy  Sudds,  from  the  foot  of  the  companion 
ladder  leading  into  the  tower. 

"  I  don't  know  that  it  is  a  whale,"  went  on  the 
inventor.  "  But  it  must  be  something  very  big 
and  strong." 

"  It's  a  monster  of  some  sort,"  put  in  Andy, 
"  and  I  want  a  chance  at  him." 


ATTACKED  BY  A  MONSTER  81 

"  It's  too  risky,"  murmured  the  professor. 
"  We  couldn't  get  down  to  bottom  here,  as  the 
water  is  several  miles  deep,  and  the  pressure  would 
crush  the  Porpoise,  strong  as  she  is." 

Once  more  came  a  terrible  blow  and  the  ship 
rocked  in  a  swirl  of  foam  beneath  the  waves.  In 
quick  succession  two  more  fierce  onslaughts  were 
made  by  the  unseen  monster. 

"  We'll  have  to  do  something,"  muttered  Andy. 

"  You're  right,"  agreed  the  professor.  "  Our 
only  chance  is  to  rise  to  the  surface,  for  I  do  not 
believe  the  creature  will  follow  us  there.  Empty 
the  tanks,  Washington." 

The  colored  man  started  the  pumps,  and  the  pro- 
fessor watched  the  gages  that  told  the  depth  of 
the  craft.  The  pointer  should  have  begun  to 
swing  around  in  a  few  seconds  after  the  tanks  be- 
gan to  empty.  Instead  it  remained  stationary. 

"  Strange,"  said  Mr.  Henderson.  "  I  wonder 
if  anything  is  wrong  with  the  machinery." 

"  More  like  the  whale,  or  whatever  it  is,  is  on 
top  of  the  boat,  holding  her  down,"  suggested 
Andy. 

There  was  no  doubt  of  this  a  moment  later,  for 
there  were  several  violent  blows  on  the  upper  part 
of  the  Porpoise. 

The  crew  of  the  submarine  were  held  prisoners 
below  the  surface  by  the  unknown  monster  1 


82  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

For  a  few  minutes  the  thought  of  the  awful  fate 
that  would  be  theirs  if  the  ship  should  be  wrecked 
under  the  water  made  each  one  speechless.  As 
they  stood  looking  at  each  other,  not  knowing  what 
to  do,  the  attack  was  renewed  on  the  port  side. 

The  big  fish,  whale  or  whatever  it  was,  kept 
pounding  away. 

"  I  have  an  idea  I  "  cried  Andy  suddenly. 

"  What  is  it?  "  asked  the  professor  quickly. 

"  Let  me  put  a  diving  dress  on,"  began  the  old 
hunter. 

"  I  tell  you  we  can't  sink  to  the  bottom  in  this 
depth  of  water,"  interrupted  the  professor. 

"  We  don't  need  to,"  put  in  Andy.  "  All  I 
want  is  a  diving  suit  and  a  chance  to  stand  out  in 
the  diving  chamber.  I  guess  I  can  fix  Mr.  Whale, 
if  I  have  one  of  those  electric  guns." 

"  Quick !  Get  a  diving  suit,  Washington !  " 
cried  Mr.  Henderson.  He  saw  what  the  old  hun- 
ter planned  to  do. 

In  a  few  minutes  Andy  was  dressed  in  the  suit. 
The  attacks  of  the  monster  had  redoubled  in  fre- 
quency, and  the  ship  rocked  as  in  a  storm. 

Andy  stepped  into  the  diving  chamber,  clasping 
the  electric  gun.  The  innner  door  was  tightly 
closed  and  then  the  sea  cocks  that  admitted  water 
from  the  outside  were  opened.  When  the  pressure 
inside  the  chamber  was  equal  to  that  of  the  ocean 


ATTACKED  BY  A  MONSTER  83 

outside  some  one  pulled  the  lever  that  opened  the 
outer  door, 

Andy  knew  better  than  to  step  outside.  He  re- 
mained in  the  chamber,  like  a  sentinel  hid  in  the 
embrasure  of  a  wall,  for  the  chamber  was  a  sort 
of  big  dent  in  the  side  of  the  Porpoise. 

Once  more  the  ship  rocked  from  a  terrific  blow, 
and  the  old  hunter  was  nearly  thrown  out  and  into 
the  fathomless  depths  below. 

He  clung  to  the  door  lever  and  peered  out. 
Through  the  big  glass  eyes  of  his  copper  helmet 
he  saw  headed  straight  at  him  a  whale  that  seemed 
larger  than  the  submarine. 


CHAPTER  XI 

CAUGHT  IN  A  SEA  OF  GRASS 

"  IT'S  all  up  with  me  and  the  ship,  too,"  thought 
Andy  as  he  stood  in  the  small  chamber  and 
watched  the  oncoming  of  the  monster. 

However,  he  was  not  going  to  die  without  a 
fight,  so  he  raised  the  electric  gun.  Yet  he  knew 
it  was  a  most  forlorn  chance. 

He  aimed  straight  down  the  big  open  mouth 
and  pulled  the  trigger.  The  next  instant  the  water 
all  about  him  was  a  mass  of  foam,  through  which 
he  could  dimly  see  that  the  whale  had  halted. 

And,  as  the  old  hunter  watched,  in  awe  and 
fear  at  what  he  saw,  he  noted  that  instead  of  one 
monster  there  seemed  to  be  a  pair.  Together  they 
were  threshing  the  sea  into  a  bloody  foam. 

Then,  turning  on  the  searchlight  in  his  helmet, 
Andy  beheld  a  terrible  sight.  The  whale  had 
been  attacked  by  a  gigantic  swordfish  at  the  mo- 
ment the  hunter  had  fired  the  shot,  and  it  was  that, 
and  not  the  electric  bullet,  that  had  stopped  the  in- 
furiated animal's  rush  at  the  ship. 

Ancient  enemies,  the  whale  and  swordfish,  had 
84 


CAUGHT  IN  A  SEA  OF  GRASS  85 

met  in  mortal  combat.  The  swordfish  had  en- 
gaged the  whale  just  as  it  was  about  to  strike  what 
would  probably  have  been  a  blow  that  would  have 
disabled  the  submarine,  for  with  the  door  of  the 
diving  chamber  open,  the  onslaught  might  not  have 
been  withstood. 

Rushing  here  and  there,  the  whale  seeking  to 
destroy  his  enemy  with  a  sweep  of  the  enormous 
flukes,  and  the  swordfish  plunging  his  bony  weapon 
again  and  again  into  the  whale,  the  two  monsters 
fought  until  the  water  about  the  ship  was  a  mass 
of  foam  and  blood. 

Much  as  he  wanted  to  see  the  end  of  the  fight, 
Andy  knew  it  was  dangerous  to  remain  longer  with 
the  door  open. 

He  closed  it,  pressed  the  lever  which  started  the 
pumped,  forcing  the  water  from  the  chamber  and, 
in  a  few  minutes,  emerged  into  the  interior  of  the 
ship. 

Mr.  Henderson,  realizing  that  something  out 
of  the  ordinary  was  going  on,  had  opened  the  slides 
of  the  bull's-eye  windows,  and  those  in  the  subma- 
rine saw  part  of  the  fight  between  the  whale  and 
swordfish. 

As  soon  as  Andy  had  removed  his  diving  suit 
he  advised  that  the  ship  be  sent  to  the  surface,  as 
there  might  be  danger  should  the  monsters  get  too 
close  in  their  struggles. 


86  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Accordingly  the  pumps,  which  had  been  stopped 
when  it  was  found  impossible  to  raise  the  ship, 
because  of  the  weight  of  the  whale,  were  started 
and  the  Porpoise  was  soon  on  the  surface. 

The  manhole  cover  was  opened  and  Andy,  with 
Jack  and  Mark,  went  out  on  deck.  They  had  no 
sooner  stepped  out  on  the  platform  than  there  was 
a  commotion  in  the  water. 

"  They're  going  to  fight  up  here !  "  exclaimed 
Mark. 

A  big  body  shot  upward  and  fell  back  with  a 
splash,  rocking  the  submarine. 

"  There's  the  whale,"  observed  Andy.  "  But  I 
reckon  he  won't  fight  any  more.  He's  dead." 

It  was  so.  The  swordfish  had  conquered,  and 
the  lifeless  body  of  the  whale  floated  on  top  of  the 
water,  only  to  sink  a  little  later. 

"  It  was  a  great  battle,"  said  Jack.  "  I'm  glad 
I  was  inside  the  ship." 

The  course  was  due  south,  and  every  minute  it 
seemed  to  the  boys  that  it  was  getting  warmer,  for 
they  were  approaching  the  equator.  Every  hour 
brought  them  nearer  the  south  pole,  though  they 
were  still  several  thousand  miles  from  it. 

After  a  while  quite  a  wind  sprang  up,  and  as  the 
sea  roughened  the  professor  decided  to  go  down 
under  the  surface.  The  Porpoise  sunk  as  the  tanks 
filled  and,  in  a  little  while,  the  submarine  was  in 


CAUGHT  IN  A  SEA  OF  GRASS  87 

calm  water,  and  was  forging  ahead  at  three-quarter 
speed. 

It  was  three  days  after  the  adventure  with  the 
whale  when,  as  the  ship -was  going  along  at  a  good 
rate,  that  there  seemed  to  be  a  gradual  slacking  in 
the  progress. 

"  I  wonder  what  Washington  is  slowing  down 
for,"  said  the  professor  rising  from  the  dinner 
table  at  which  all  save  the  colored  man  had  been 
sitting.  "  I  told  him  to  keep  right  on.  He  must 
have  seen  something  ahead.  I'll  take  a  look." 

The  inventor  went  to  the  conning  tower,  where 
Washington  was  stearing. 

"  What  are  you  stopping  for?  "  he  asked. 

"  I'm  not  slowin'  down,"  replied  the  colored 
man.  "  Guess  another  ob  dem  debil  fishes  has 
grabbed  holt  ob  de  ship.  Dey  suttinly  am  de  most 
koslostrous  conglomerations  ob  inconsequence  dat 
I  eber  see." 

'  You  must  keep  your  big  words  for  another 
time,"  remarked  Mr.  Henderson,  who  seemed  wor- 
ried. "  Hurry  to  the  engine-room  and  see  if  the 
machinery  is  all  right.  We  certainly  are  slowing 
down,  from  some  cause  or  other." 

The  Porpoise  was  now  scarcely  moving,  though 
from  the  vibration  it  was  evident  that  the  engines 
were  working  almost  at  top  speed.  Washington 
came  back  and  reported  that  the  big  screw  was  re- 


volving  properly  and  that  all  the  machinery  was 
working  well. 

"  Then  we're  caught  in  something,"  said  the 
professor.  "  Shut  off  the  power,  Washington,  I 
don't  want  to  strain  things." 

The  ship  was  now  scarcely  making  a  foot  a 
minute,  and,  a  little  later,  when  the  colored  man 
had  turned  off  the  engine,  the  submarine  became 
stationary,  merely  undulating  with  the  roll  and 
heave  of  the  ocean. 

Hurrying  to  the  cabin,  Captain  Henderson 
opened  the  side  window  shutters,  turned  off  the 
electric  lights  and  peered  out. 

"  I  can't  see  anything,"  he  said.  "  Yet  I 
should  be  able  to,  as  we  are  not  very  deep." 

The  gage  showed  that  the  ship  was  submerged 
only  thirty  feet,  and  at  that  depth  there  should 
have  been  no  difficulty  in  seeing,  at  least  dimly, 
objects  under  water.  But  the  windows  showed  as 
black  as  night. 

"  Bring  me  one  of  the  portable  searchlights," 
called  Mr.  Henderson. 

Washington  brought  one,  operated  by  a  storage 
battery.  Holding  it  so  the  reflector  cast  the  beams 
out  of  the  bull's-eye  and  into  the  water  on  the  op- 
posite side,  the  inventor  peered  forth. 

"  I  was  afraid  of  this!  "  he  murmured. 

''What  is  it?"  asked  Jack. 


CAUGHT  IN  A  SEA  OF  GRASS  89 

"  We  are  caught  in  the  Sargasso  Sea,"  replied 
Mr.  Henderson. 

"The  Sargasso  Sea?"  repeated  Mark,  in  a 
questioning  tone.  "What  is  that?" 

"  It  is  a  great  sea  of  grass,"  replied  the  captain. 
"  An  immense  ocean  of  sea  weed,  that  sometimes 
floats  on  the  surface  and  sometimes  a  little  below. 
The  stalks  or  blades  of  the  grass  are  very  long  and 
closely  matted  together." 

"  Is  there  any  danger?  "  asked  Andy  in  some 
alarm. 

"  Very  much,"  answered  the  professor  quietly. 
"  A  ship,  once  fairly  entangled  in  the  grass  or  sea 
weed,  seldom  gets  out.  If  it  is  a  sailing  ship  the 
weed  clings  to  the  rudder,  making  steerage  impos- 
sible, and  even  in  a  strong  wind  the  ship  cannot  get 
free  of  the  mass.  The  grass  winds  about  the  pro- 
pellors  of  steamships,  and  holds  them  as  tight  as 
in  a  vise. 

"  Sometimes  a  great  storm  may  tear  the  mass  of 
weed  loose  from  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  and  then 
the  ship  is  free.  But  the  Sargasso  Sea  is  the  grave- 
yard of  many  a  fine  vessel." 

The  pumps  were  set  going.  Anxiously  every- 
one watched  the  gage.  The  pointer  never  moved, 
but  remained  at  thirty  feet.  The  Porpoise  was 
caught. 

4  Well,  since  we  can't  go  up,  let  us  see  if  we 


go 

can  go  down,"  said  the  inventor.     "  Perhaps  we 
can  dive  under  the  sea  weed." 

The  cocks  of  the  tanks  were  opened  and  the 
water  rushed  in.  Under  the  weight  of  it  the  ship 
should  have  sunk  to  the  bottom.  Instead  it  re- 
mained just  where  it  was,  thirty  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. 

"  Try  the  screw  again,"  suggested  Andy, 
"  Maybe  we  can  back  out." 

The  big  propeller  in  the  tube  was  started  going 
in  a  reverse  direction,  but  the  Porpoise  only  moved 
a  few  feet  and  then  stopped.  To  go  forward  was 
equally  impossible. 

The  submarine  was  held  fast  in  the  grip  of  the 
long,  sinuous,  snake-like  fingers  of  the  terrible  sea 
grass.  Weak  as  one  strand  was,  the  thousands 
combined  served  to  fasten  the  ship  as  securely  as 
wire  cables  would  have  done.  The  weeds  had  en- 
tangled themselves  all  around  the  craft  and  refused 
to  let  go. 

"  Well,"  remarked  Mr.  Henderson  when  all  ef- 
forts had  failed.  "  We  must  think  of  a  new 
plan." 

He  spoke  cheerfully,  for  he  did  not  want  the 
boys  and  other  members  of  the  crew  to  know  how 
worried  he  was.     This  was  a  danger  he  had  neve 
counted  on  when  he  planned  to  go  to  the  south 
pole. 


: 


CAUGHT  IN  A  SEA  OF  GRASS  91 

"  There  is  no  great  hurry,"  Mr.  Henderson 
went  on  in  a  few  minutes.  "  We  can  stay  here  for 
several  days  if  need  be,  and  by  that  time  a  storm 
may  tear  the  grass  loose." 

"  If  we  had  our  old  hay  sythes  here,"  spoke 
Bill,  "  me  an'  Tom  could  put  on  divin'  suits  an' 
go  out  an'  cut  the  sea  weed." 

"  I'm  afraid  that  wouldn't  work,"  answered 
Mr.  Henderson.  "  I'll  think  up  some  plan,  soon." 

He  started  toward  the  engine  room  to  look  over 
the  machinery.  He  was  met  by  Washington,  who 
seemed  much  alarmed. 

14  What's  the  matter?  "  asked  the  inventor. 

"  De  air  tank  hab  busted  an'  all  de  air  is  es- 
capin'  out !  "  cried  the  colored  man.  "  We'll  all 
smothercate !  " 


CHAPTER  XII 

FIRE   ON   BOARD 

THE  professor  jumped  past  Washington  and 
hurried  into  the  room  where  the  tanks  were  kept, 
carrying  the  reserve  supply  of  air  for  breathing 
when  the  ship  was  under  water.  A  loud  hissing 
told  that  the  leak  was  a  large  one. 

44  Quick !  Bring  me  some  tools  and  a  steel 
plug,"  shouted  the  captain. 

Mark  hurried  in  with  the  things  the  professor 
wanted.  But  before  the  plug  could  be  put  in  the 
hole  the  air  stopped  hissing. 

44  The  leak  is  fixed!  "  cried  Jack. 

"  No,"  said  the  professor  in  a  strange  voice. 

44  But  the  air  no  longer  rushes  out." 

44  For  a  good  reason,  there  is  no  longer  any  air 
to  rush  out.  It  is  all  gone !  " 

44  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  all  the  reserve  stock 
has  been  lost?"  exclaimed  Andy. 

44 1  fear  so.  The  leak  must  have  been  a  bad 
one.  The  air  was  stored  in  tanks  under  pressure, 
and,  as  you  know,  we  released  it  as  we  needed  it. 
Now  it  is  all  gone." 

Q2 


FIRE  ON  BOARD  93 

"  All  ?  Then  we  shall  smother,"  said  Jack,  and 
his  voice  trembled. 

"  Not  at  once,"  went  on  Mr.  Henderson  in  a 
calm  voice.  '  There  is  enough  air  in  the  entire 
ship,  including  that  which  has  leaked  from  the 
tanks  to  last  us  five  hours.  After  that — "  he 
paused  and  looked  at  his  watch. 

"  Well?  "  asked  Andy.     "  After  that?  " 
'  There  is  enough  stored  in  the  small  tanks  of 
the  diving  suits  to  last  another  two  hours,  perhaps. 
Seven  hours  in  all." 

"  Then  what?  "  asked  Mark. 

"  We  shall  smother  to  death,"  said  the  pro- 
fessor  in  a  low  tone.  "  That  is,"  he  went  on, 
"  unless  before  that  time  we  can  raise  the  Porpoise 
to  the  surface  of  the  sea  and  get  a  fresh  supply 
of  air." 

"  Then  we  must  work  to  raise  the  ship,"  put  in 
Bill.  "  Let'  get  out  and  see  if  we  can't  cut  through 
the  sea  weed." 

"  It  would  be  useless,"  said  IVir.  Henderson. 
"  We  can  only  depend  on  the  power  of  the  ship 
herself.  But  do  not  be  discouraged.  We  may 
escape.  Come,  Washington,  start  the  engine 
again.  By  keeping  it  going  constantly  we  can, 
perhaps,  break  loose  from  the  grass.  It  is  our 
only  hope." 

Steadily  the  machinery  worked.     It  might  as 


94  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

well  have  remained  stationary,  however,  as  far  as 
any  noticeable  effect  was  made  on  the  boat's  pro- 
gress. The  grass  of  the  Sargasso  Sea  held  the 
Porpoise  in  a  firm  grasp. 

Four  hours  passed.  There  was  nothing  to  do 
but  wait  and  see  what  would  happen.  It  all  de- 
pended on  the  engines.  Silently  the  navigators 
of  the  realms  under  the  ocean  sat  and  hoped. 
Now  and  then  the  professor  would  go  to  the  engine 
room  to  adjust  the  machines. 

The  atmosphere  in  the  cabin  was  growing  no- 
ticeably heavier.  The  boys'  heads  began  to  ring 
with  strange  noises,  and  there  was  a  tightness  across 
their  chests.  The  lack  of  fresh  air  was  beginning 
to  tell. 

"  We  might  as  well  use  that  in  the  diving  suit 
reservoirs,"  remarked  the  professor.  "  We  will 
feel  better,  at  least  for  a  little  while." 

The  helmets  of  the  suits  were  brought  in,  and 
the  vapor  released  from  the  small  tanks.  A 
change  was  at  once  noticed.  The  old  stale  air 
in  the  cabin  was  forced  out  of  the  exhaust  pipes, 
and  the  fresh  took  its  place.  Every  one  felt  bet- 
ter. 

Faster  and  faster  revolved  the  big  screw.  The 
ship  vibrated  more  and  more.  Yet  it  did  not 
move,  nor  did  it  rise.  The  crew  were  still  prison- 
ers beneath  the  water. 


FIRE  ON  BOARD  95 

For  an  hour  or  so  conditions  were  fairly  com- 
fortable. Then  the  same  unpleasantness  was  ex- 
perienced as  was  noticed  before. 

"If  we  could  only  open  a  window,"  sighed 
Mark,  "  and  let  in  a  lot  of  fresh  air,  how  nice 
it  would  be." 

The  air  rapidly  became  more  foul.  Soon  Wash- 
ington was  gasping  for  breath.  Tom  and  Bill 
showed  signs  of  uneasiness. 

"  Lie  down  on  the  floor,"  counseled  the  pro- 
fessor. "  You  will  find  the  air  a  little  fresher 
down  there." 

They  all  did  as  he  advised,  the  inventor  him- 
self stretching  out  at  full  length.  A  little  relief 
was  experienced. 

They  knew  it  could  not  last  long.  Even  the 
professor  seemed  to  have  given  up  hope.  The 
engine  was  not  going  to  free  the  ship  in  time  to 
save  the  lives  of  those  on  board. 

Washington  crawled  to  the  engine  room,  as  some 
of  the  bearings  needed  oiling.  The  professor 
seemed  in  despair.  He  opened  one  of  the  slides 
that  covered  the  glass  bulls  eye  windows.  Then 
he  turned  off  the  electric  lights.  The  opening  was 
black,  showing  that  the  sea  of  grass  still  sur- 
rounded them.  With  a  groan  Mr.  Henderson 
turned  aside.  The  last  hope  was  gone.  He  sank 
down  on  the  floor  of  the  darkened  cabin. 


96  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Just  then  Mark  happened  to  look  at  the  bulls- 
eye.  He  saw  a  glimmer  of  light.  Then  he 
noticed  several  fishes  swimming  about.  The  water 
was  clear.  The  grass  had  disappeared  from  the 
vicinity  of  the  window. 

"  Look!  "  cried  Mark  to  the  professor. 

The  inventor  peered  forth.  As  he  did  so  he 
uttered  a  cry.  Then  he  staggered  rather  than  ran 
to  the  engine  room. 

"  What  are  you  doing?  "  he  called  to  Washing- 
ton. 

"  I  jest  let  some  ob  de  sulphuric  acid  out  ob  de 
storage  battery  tank,"  replied  the  colored  man. 

"That's  it!  That's  it!"  exclaimed  the  pro- 
fessor. "  Quick,  let  some  more  out,  Washington. 
Let  out  all  there  is  in  that  tank.  It  will  save  our 
lives." 

Wonderingly  Washington  obeyed.  The  air  in 
the  ship  was  growing  more  foul  every  second.  It 
was  hard  to  breathe  even  on  the  floor,  and  all  were 
gasping  for  breath.  A  few  minutes  more  and 
they  would  all  become  unconscious  and  death  would 
come  in  a  little  while  if  the  air  was  not  freshened. 

The  professor  staggered  back  to  the  main  cabin. 
He  looked  out  of  the  bull's-eye  windows.  Then 
he  exclaimed: 

"  See,  it  is  getting  lighter!  Thank  Heaven  we 
are  saved !  " 


FIRE  ON  BOARD  97 

The  next  instant  the  ship  began  to  move  back- 
ward. Then  with  increasing  speed  it  pulled  out  of 
the  grip  of  the  long  grass,  and  in  another  minute 
was  floating  on  top  of  the  water,  at  the  edge  of 
the  Sargasso  Sea. 

"Quick!  Open  the  man  hole  cover  1"  said 
Amos  Henderson. 

Washington  threw  back  the  lever  cams,  and  in 
rushed  the  fresh  air.  It  was  a  blessed  relief  from 
the  terrible  oppressiveness  of  the  foul  atmosphere 
of  the  boat.  They  all  breathed  deeply,  and,  in  a 
few  minutes  the  effects  of  their  long  imprisonment 
had  passed  off. 

They  went  out  on  the  small  deck.  It  was  get- 
ting dusk,  and  the  reflection  of  the  red  sunset  shone 
brightly  on  the  heaving  water. 

"  I  'spected  I'd  neber  see  dis  again,"  said  Wash- 
ington. "  Thought  suah  I  was  a  gone  chicken!  " 

"  We  had  a  most  fortunate  escape,"  said  the 
professor.  "  You  did  the  trick  for  us  when  you 
let  the  acid  run  from  that  tank  into  the  sea.  It 
mingled  with  the  water  and  burned  or  ate  through 
the  stems  of  the  grass  so  they  no  longer  held  the 
ship.  I  saw  what  had  happened  as  soon  as  I 
looked  out  of  the  bull's-eye,  and  that's  why  I  had 
you  turn  out  all  the  acid  you  could.  It  was  just 
as  if  liquid  fire  had  touched  the  sea  weed  and 
burnt  it  off." 


98  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  Golly !  "  exclaimed  Washington.  "  Fust  I 
know  I'll  be  a  perfessor  myself !  " 

Supper  was  eaten  with  the  ship  on  the  surface 
of  the  ocean,  for  it  was  impossible  to  go  below 
until  the  leak  in  the  air  tanks  had  been  repaired. 
Work  was  begun  on  this  the  next  day,  and  though 
it  proved  a  difficult  job  it  was  accomplished  by 
Mr.  Henderson  and  the  boys. 

There  were  several  minor  repairs  to  be  made  to 
the  machinery,  and  it  was  a  week  before  all  was 
in  readiness  for  another  descent  beneath  the  waves. 
In  the  meanwhile  the  craft  had  moved  slowly  south- 
ward on  the  surface,  where  no  very  great  speed  was 
possible. 

Toward  evening,  on  the  seventh  day  after  their 
adventure  with  the  Sargasso  Sea,  the  travelers 
closed  the  man  hole,  and  with  air  tanks  well  filled 
slowly  sank  beneath  the  waves.  Supper  was  eaten 
at  a  depth  of  sixty  feet,  and  after  the  meal,  while 
Washington  was  washing  the  dishes,  the  others  sat 
and  looked  out  through  the  bull's-eyes  at  the  big 
fishes  which  floated  past. 

"  I  wouldn't  like  to  catch  one  of  them  air  things 
on  my  hook  an'  line,"  observed  Bill,  as  a  par- 
ticularly large  fish  went  past.  "  I  reckon  I'd  have 
trouble  landin'  him." 

"  More  likely  he'd  pull  you  in,"  said  Mark. 

For  several  minutes  they  watched  the  strange 


FIRE  ON  BOARD  99 

procession  of  deep-sea  life.  Presently  Jack,  who 
was  sitting  near  the  engine  room  door,  sprang  up. 
At  the  same  instant  there  was  the  sound  of  an 
explosion. 

"What's  the  matter?"  cried  the  professor. 

"  Come  quick!  "  yelled  Washington. 

"  It's  a  fire !  "  yelled  Jack.  "  One  of  the  elec- 
trical fuses  has  blown  out,  and  the  ship  is  on 
fire!" 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  GHOST  OF  THE  SUBMARINE 

THEY  all  rushed  toward  the  engine  room.  It 
was  dark,  because  the  lights  had  gone  out  all  over 
the  ship,  and  they  could  see  only  by  the  glare  of 
the  flames,  which  were  increasing. 

"  Light  one  of  the  oil  lanterns !  "  called  the  pro- 
fessor, and  Bill  did  so. 

"  Unreel  the  hose,"  the  inventor  continued,  and 
Mark  and  Jack  ran  to  do  this. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  line  was  stretched  into  the 
engine  room,  and  water  was  being  thrown  on  the 
flames,  for  Washington  had  started  the  pump  as 
soon  as  he  saw  the  conflagration. 

The  fire  was  in  one  corner,  hear  the  electrical 
switch  board,  and  had  been  caused  by  the  blowing 
out  of  one  of  the  fuses,  which  occasioned  the  little 
explosion.  The  wood  work  near  the  switches  was 
blazing  fiercely,  and  soon  the  ship  was  filled  with 
smoke. 

"  Empty  the  ballast  tanks !  "  called  the  pro- 
fessor. "  We  must  rise  to  the  surface !  " 

"  We'll  all  be  burned  up !  "  cried  Tom.     "  First 

IOO 


THE  GHOST  OF  THE  SUBMARINE    101 

we  nearly  smother  and  then  we  get  on  fire.     Neber 
saw  such  luck!  " 

With  a  rush  the  Porpoise  began  to  rise,  as  her 
canks  were  lightened.  With  steady  hands,  though 
with  fear  in  their  hearts,  Jack  and  Mark  continued 
to  play  the  water  on  the  flames,  while  the  professor 
and  Washington  got  out  a  second  line  and  aided 
them. 

'  The  fire  is  dying  out  I  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Hen- 
derson.    "  We'll  soon  get  the  best  of  it." 

In  five  minutes  the  worst  was  over,  though  it 
had  been  an  anxious  time,  and  one  of  danger.  The 
ship  came  to  the  surface,  and  the  open  man-hole 
let  out  the  thick  smoke  that  had  nearly  suffocated 
the  travelers. 

As  soon  as  it  was  cool  enough  in  the  engine 
room  an  examination  was  made  of  the  damage 
done.  It  was  not  as  bad  as  the  professor  had 
feared,  and  the  running  part  of  the  ship  was  not 
harmed.  A  new  fuse  was  put  in  and  the  electric 
lights  turned  on. 

The  night  was  spent  with  the  ship  floating  on 
the  surface  of  the  ocean,  only  enough  speed  being 
kept  up  to  give  her  steerage  way.  The  professor 
did  not  want  to  go  below  the  waves  until  he  had 
repaired  the  switch  board. 

Watch  was  kept,  for,  though  they  were  out  of 
the  regular  line  of  ocean  travel,  there  was  no 


102  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

telling  when  a  vessel  might  come  along  and  run 
them  down,  for  the  Porpoise  did  not  show  above 
the  waves  more  than  a  few  feet,  and  carried  no 
lights. 

Mark  had  the  watch  just  after  midnight,  and 
was  sitting  in  the  conning  tower,  the  door  of  which 
opened  out  on  the  small  deck.  He  had  swept  the 
surface  of  the  water  with  powerful  glasses  and 
was  sure  there  were  no  ships  in  sight.  So,  feeling 
that  he  would  like  to  stretch  his  legs,  he  walked 
up  and  down  on  the  platform. 

He  had  reached  the  after  end,  and  was  about 
to  turn  and  go  back,  when  he  was  startled  to  see 
between  him  and  the  conning  tower  a  white  ob- 
ject. At  first  Mark  thought  it  was  a  cloud  of 
mist,  or  something  the  matter  with  his  eyes.  He 
rubbed  them,  but  the  object  did  not  disappear. 

Then  it  moved,  and,  to  his  horror  Mark  saw 
that  it  had  the  shape  of  a  man,  tall  and  thin. 
The  two  arms  were  outstretched,  and  to  Mark's 
imagination  seemed  to  be  pointed  toward  him. 

In  spite  of  trying  not  to  be,  Mark  was  fright- 
ened. 

He  did  not  believe  in  ghosts,  and  had  always 
felt  that  all  stories  about  them  were  due  to  persons' 
imaginations.  Now  he  saw  something  that  was 
hard  to  explain. 

As  he  watched  it,  the  white  object  turned  and 


THE  GHOST  OF  THE  SUBMARINE    103 

glided  without  making  the  slightest  noise,  toward 
the  conning  tower.  It  entered  and  Mark  breathed 
a  sigh  of  relief. 

Perhaps,  after  all,  it  was  some  one  from  down 
in  the  cabin,  maybe  the  professor  himself  in  his 
night  shirt,  who  had  come  up  to  see  that  all  was 
right. 

"  I'll  go  and  look,"  said  Mark  to  himself. 

He  had  to  nerve  himself  for  the  ordeal,  as,  in 
spite  of  assuring  himself  that  there  were  no  such 
things  as  ghosts,  he  was  frightened. 

It  was  absolutely  quiet.  The  only  sound  was 
the  gentle  swish  of  the  water  against  the  sides  of 
the  ship.  The  engine  was  running  so  slowly  that 
it  caused  no  noise. 

Half  way  on  his  journey  to  the  conning  tower 
Mark  paused.  There,  advancing  toward  him,  was 
the  white  object.  With  outstretched  arms  it 
glided  nearer  and  nearer  until  Mark's  heart  was 
beating  as  if  it  would  burst  through  his  ribs.  His 
mouth  was  dry  and  he  could  not  have  cried  out 
had  he  tried. 

There  was  a  splash  in  the  water  off  to  the  left 
as  some  big  fish  sprang  out  and  dropped  back 
again.  Involuntarily  Mark  turned  in  that  direc- 
tion. Then  he  thought  of  the  ghost  and  looked 
for  it  again.  To  his  surprise  the  white  object  was 
nowhere  to  be  seen! 


104  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

The  boy  waited  a  few  minutes,  and  then,  screw- 
ing up  his  courage,  he  went  to  the  tower.  There 
was  no  one  inside,  and,  along  the  length  of  deck 
nothing  was  to  be  seen  of  the  ghost. 

"  I  wonder  if  I  have  been  asleep  and  dreaming," 
the  boy  asked  himself.  He  gave  his  leg  a  pinch, 
and  the  sensation  of  pain  told  him  he  was  not 
slumbering. 

"  Well,  I'll  say  nothing  about  it,"  Mark  went 
on  to  himself.  "  They'll  only  laugh  at  me." 

Entering  the  tower  Mark  looked  for  the  glasses 
in  order  to  make  another  observation.  He  could 
not  find  them,  yet  he  was  sure  he  had  left  them 
on  a  shelf  in  the  tower. 

"  I  wonder  if  the  ghost  took  them,"  he  said. 

He  heard  some  one  coming  up  the  iron  stairs 
of  the  small  companionway  that  led  down  into 
the  interior  of  the  ship  through  the  man-hole. 
At  first  he  thought  it  was  his  queer  midnight  visitor 
returning.  Then  the  head  and  shoulders  of  Jack 
appeared. 

"  I've  come  to  relieve  you,"  said  Jack.  "  Your 
watch  is  up;  it's  two  o'clock.  Here  are  the  night 
glasses.  I  found  them  on  the  cabin  table.  I 
thought  you  had  them  with  you." 

"  I  did,"  replied  Mark. 

"  Then  how  did  they  get  below?  " 

"I  —  !  don't  know,"  said  Mark. 


THE  GHOST  OF  THE  SUBMARINE    105 

The  mystery  was  deepening,  yet  he  did  not 
want  to  tell  Jack  just  yet. 

"  Well,  that's  queer,"  remarked  Jack.  "  May- 
be the  captain  came  up  and  got  them  while  you 
were  asleep." 

"  I  didn't  go  to  sleep,"  answered  Mark  rather 
crossly. 

Jack  said  nothing  more,  but  took  his  place  in 
the  conning  tower,  while  Mark  went  below. 
Thinking  to  discover  if  the  ghost  might  by  any 
chance  have  been  one  of  the  persons  on  the  Por- 
poise, Mark  looked  into  each  bunk.  From  the 
captain  to  Washington,  all  the  inmates  were  peace- 
fully slumbering. 

"  Queer,"  murmured  Jack,  as  he  took  a  look  into 
the  engine  room  before  turning  in.  The  engine 
needed  no  attention,  as  it  worked  automatically, 
and  all  there  was  to  do  was  to  steer  the  ship. 
Even  this  needed  little  care  as  the  course  was  a 
straight  one,  and  the  wheel  could  be  locked,  leav- 
ing the  lookout  little  to  do. 

"  Did  you  see  anything  during  your  watch  ?  " 
asked  Mark  of  Jack  the  next  morning. 

"  See  anything?     What  do  you  mean?  " 

"  I  mean  anything  unusual." 

"  Nothing  only  a  school  of  porpoises  went  past 
and  gave  me  a  little  scare.  They  were  like  a  lot 
of  water  kittens  at  play." 


106  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Mark  concluded  he  would  say  nothing  of  the 
white  visitor  until  he  ascertained  whether  any  one 
else  had  seen  it. 

It  was  several  nights  later,  when  the  ship  was 
once  more  proceeding  slowly  along  the  surface  of 
the  water,  that  the  ghost  again  appeared.  This 
time  Washington  had  the  midnight  watch. 

But  the  colored  man  was  not  one  to  remain 
quiet  when  he  had  such  a  scary  visitor,  and  his 
yells  aroused  the  ship. 

"  It's  a  ghostess !  A  big  white  ghostess !  " 
yelled  Washington.  "  I  don  seen  it  wid  my  eyes, 
an'  it  waved  his  arms  at  me.  I's  goin'  to  die 
suah!" 

"  What's  all  this  nonsense?  "  demanded  the  pro- 
fessor sternly.  Then  Washington,  more  or  less 
excitedly,  told  of  what  he  had  seen.  It  was  just 
as  it  had  happened  to  Mark. 

'  You  were  dreaming,"  said  the  professor  to 
Washington.  "  There  are  no  such  things  as 
ghosts." 

Every  one,  from  old  Andy  to  Tom  and  Bill, 
had  been  roused  by  Washington's  cries,  and 
listened  to  his  story.  At  the  close  of  the  recital 
of  how  the  white  thing  had  suddenly  disappeared, 
Washington  refused  to  continue  his  watch,  unless 
some  one  stayed  with  him. 

Mark  volunteered  to  do  this.     He  was  anxious 


THE  GHOST  OF  THE  SUBMARINE    107 

to  see  if  the  ghost  would  reappear  to  him.  But 
nothing  happened ;  and  the  rest  of  the  night  passed 
off  quietly. 

The  next  day  the  Porpoise  was  taken  below  the 
surface,  in  order  to  allow  of  better  speed  being 
made.  She  was  running  along,  submerged  to  a 
depth  of  two  hundred  feet,  when  there  came  a  sud- 
den jar,  and  the  ship  stopped. 

"  More  trouble !  "  exclaimed  the  professor. 

He  opened  the  slide  covering  the  bull's-eye  win- 
dows and  looked  out.  All  about  was  swirling 
muddy  water. 

"  Can  you  see  anything?  "  the  inventor  called  to 
Jack,  who  was  in  the  conning  tower. 

'  We've  run  into  a  mud-bank,  and  are  stuck 
fast,"  called  back  the  boy. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

DIGGING  OUT  THE  SHIP 

"  REVERSE  the  engine !  "  called  the  professor. 
"  Maybe  we  can  back  the  ship  out." 

Washington  set  the  big  screw  to  revolving  in  the 
opposite  direction.  The  Porpoise  shock  and 
shivered  but  the  mud  held  her  fast. 

"  We  must  have  gone  in  pretty  deep,"  com- 
mented Amos  Henderson.  "  Luckily  it  was  soft 
mud  instead  of  a  rocky  reef  or  we'd  have  damaged 
the  ship  beyond  repair." 

For  several  minutes  the  engines  were  kept  on  the 
reverse,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  The  sticky  mud 
was  like  glue  in  its  holding  power  and  the  ship  had 
buried  her  prow  deep  into  it. 

"  I  guess  we'll  have  to  dig  our  way  out,"  said 
the  professor,  after  taking  a  careful  view  of  the 
big  mud  bank  from  the  conning  tower.  "  Wash- 
ington, get  out  the  diving  suits  and  the  spades." 

"  Are  we  really  going  out  in  the  water  to  dig?  " 
asked  Tom. 

"  Of  course,"  said  Mr.  Henderson.  "  You'll 
be  as  safe  as  in  the  ship,  wearing  one  of  my  diving 

108 


DIGGING  OUT  THE  SHIP  109 

suits.     We'll  all  have  to  help,  for  it  will  be  quite  a 
task." 

The  queer  suits  were  brought  out,  and  the  reser- 
voirs in  the  helmets  were  filled  with  compressed 
air.  It  was  decided  to  have  Washington  remain 
within  the  Porpoise,  to  watch  the  machinery  and 
start  the  engine  when  the  digging  was  partly  done, 
in  order  to  see  if  the  ship  would  not  pull  herself 
free  when  some  of  the  mud  had  been  removed 
from  the  prow. 

"  And  we  may  need  Washington  for  another 
purpose,"  said  the  professor. 

"What  for?"  asked  Mark. 

"  Well,  he'll  have  to  stay  by  the  diving  tank,  to 
let  us  in  quickly  in  case  of  emergency." 

"Do  you  think  there'll  be  an  emergency?" 
asked  Jack. 

"  You  never  can  tell,"  was  the  answer.  '  We 
are  in  deep  water,  and  I  don't  want  any  accidents 
to  happen." 

In  a  few  minutes  all  save  Washington  were  in 
their  diving  suits  and  ready  to  go  out  and  walk 
on  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  They  entered  the  tank, 
the  door  was  closed,  and  then  water  was  slowly  ad- 
mitted from  the  ocean.  When  the  tank  was  full, 
led  by  the  professor,  they  stepped  out  on  the 
muddy  floor  of  the  ocean. 

At  first  the  pressure  of  the  water  at  so  great  a 


j  io  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

depth  bothered  them.  But,  as  we  know,  the  div- 
ing suits  were  reinforced  with  plates  of  steel,  and 
so  strong  that  little  more  than  an  extra  weight 
of  water  was  noticed.  They  soon  became  used  to 
it.  Each  one  carried  a  spade,  while  the  profes- 
sor, Andy  and  the  boys  each  had,  slung  about  their 
necks  by  straps,  one  of  the  electric  guns. 

Cautiously  they  walked  toward  the  big  mud 
bank.  They  had  to  go  slowly  because  of  the 
weight  of  the  water  above  them,  and  because  they 
might  at  any  minute  step  into  some  muck  hole 
and  sink  down.  Fortunately,  however,  they 
found  there  was  a  firm  bottom  right  up  to  where 
the  bank  of  mud  reared  upward. 

Turning  on  the  electric  lights  in  their  helmets, 
the  voyagers  were  able  to  see  quite  distinctly. 
The  Porpoise  had  rammed  her  nose  into  the  under- 
water hill  for  a  distance  of  about  ten  feet.  It  was 
going  to  be  no  easy  matter  to  get  her  free,  but 
the  divers  lost  no  time. 

Vigorously  they  attacked  the  big  hill  of  mud. 
They  dug  their  spades  in  and  tossed  the  earth  to 
one  side.  It  was  a  strange  place  to  work.  At 
first  the  weight  of  water  hampered  every  one,  but 
they  soon  became  used  to  it  and  were  able  to  pro- 
ceed more  rapidly. 

From  the  conning  tower  Washington  kept 
watch  of  their  progress.  When  they  had  gone  in 


DIGGING  OUT  THE  SHIP 

about  five  feet  he  started  the  engines,  hoping  the 
Porpoise  might  now  pull  herself  free.  But  the 
mud  still  held. 

By  signs,  for  it  was  of  course  impossible  for 
any  one  to  hear  or  speak,  attired  as  they  were  in 
helmets  and  suits,  the  professor  motioned  that  they 
must  dig  deeper. 

Once  more  they  attacked  the  big  mud  bank  with 
their  shovels.  Farther  and  farther  they  went  into 
the  muck  until  it  seemed  that  the  nose  of  the  sub- 
marine must  be  free.  But  when  Washington 
started  the  engines  it  was  obvious  that  the  ship  was 
still  held. 

Again  the  digging  was  resumed.  All  at  once, 
while  every  one  was  wielding  his  spade  to  best 
advantage,  a  shadow  seemed  to  cover  the  water. 
It  loomed  up  large  and  black,  and  the  professor 
stopped  and  gazed  upward.  What  he  saw  made 
him  drop  his  spade  and  grab  the  gun  that  was 
about  his  neck. 

Floating  in  the  water  above  the  diggers,  were 
three  immense  sharks.  Their  cruel  mouths  were 
partly  open,  showing  three  rows  of  big  teeth,  and 
they  were  slowly  turning  over  on  their  backs  to 
make  a  sudden  rush  and  devour  the  men  and  boys. 
Owing  to  the  peculiar  shape  of  its  maw  a  shark 
can  not  bite  until  it  turns  over. 

The  professor  motioned  for  Bill  and  Tom  to 


112  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

move  behind  him,  and  signalled  for  Jack,  Mark 
and  Andy  to  stand  close  with  their  weapons  ready. 

The  sharks  floated  lazily  downward  as  if  they 
knew  they  had  the  diggers  at  their  mercy.  To 
run  and  escape  was  impossible,  for  no  one  could 
run  hampered  by  the  weight  of  water  and  his  div- 
ing suit. 

One  of  the  terrible  fish  opened  its  mouth  wider 
and,  with  a  flirt  of  its  tail  aimed  straight  for  the 
professor.  Mr.  Henderson  raised  his  gun,  and 
took  careful  aim  at  the  middle  of  the  fish,  half 
turned  over.  Unerringly  the  electric  bullet  sped 
on  its  way.  It  entered  the  soft  under  part  of  the 
shark,  and  immediately  the  thing  struggled  in  its 
death  agony. 

The  water  was  dyed  with  blood.  At  the  same 
instant  the  other  sharks  rushed  forward  in  a  swirl 
of  foam.  The  boys  and  Andy  fired  as  best  they 
could,  and  must  have  hit  one  of  the  creatures  for 
there  was  a  greater  commotion. 

But  the  fight  was  not  over.  Instantly  the  ocean 
seemed  alive  with  the  giant  fish.  Attracted  by  the 
blood  of  the  killed  ones,  scores  of  the  tigers  of  the 
seas  rushed  toward  the  scene  of  combat  making 
matters  livelier  than  ever. 

The  professor,  the  boys  and  Andy  fired  their 
guns  at  random.  Redder  and  more  red  became 
the  water  until  their  helmet  lamps  barely  glowed 


DIGGING  OUT  THE  SHIP  113 

in  the  crimson  sea.     It  seemed  that  a  whole  army 
of  the  voracious  sharks  had  attacked  them. 

The  professor  realized  that  to  stay  and  attempt 
to  fight  all  the  sharks  in  that  part  of  the  ocean 
was  impossible.  He  motioned  for  the  boys  and 
Andy  to  follow  him.  Then  he  slowly  led  the  way 
back  to  the  ship. 

But  the  sharks  were  not  to  be  gotten  rid  of  so 
easily.  Several  of  the  largest  followed  the  dig- 
gers, their  horrible  eyes,  and  big  mouths  with  rows 
of  cruel  teeth,  striking  terror  to  the  hearts  of  all. 

One  of  the  creatures  made  a  rush  for  Bill  and 
Tom  who  were  close  together.  Either  or  both  of 
the  men  would  have  been  bitten  in  twain,  in  spite 
of  the  protection  of  their  diving  suits,  had  not 
Mark,  with  a  snap  shot,  killed  the  fierce  fish. 

It  was  now  a  running  fight,  and  yet  not  so  much 
that,  because  to  run  was  impossible.  However, 
they  hurried  all  they  could,  and,  by  dint  of  quick 
firing  kept  the  ugly  creatures  at  bay  until  the  side 
of  the  ship,  where  the  diving  tank  was  placed,  was 
reached. 

The  professor  stepped  to  one  side,  and  motioned 
for  the  others  to  proceed  him  in  entering.  Lit- 
tle time  was  lost.  As  Bill,  the  last  one  in,  stepped 
past  the  steel  door  the  inventor  attempted  to  en- 
ter. To  do  so  he  had  to  let  go  of  his  gun. 

Instantly  one  of  the  sharks  made  a  rush  for  the 


ii4  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

old  man.  But  Andy  was  on  the  watch.  He 
leaned  forward,  and,  from  his  weapon  sent  a  bullet 
straight  down  the  throat  of  the  monster.  The 
electric  missile  did  its  work  well,  and  the  lifeless 
body  of  the  shark  was  devoured  by  the  others  of 
its  tribe. 

The  professor  pulled  the  door  shut  behind  him. 
Then  he  set  the  pump  to  work  to  empty  the  tank. 
As  he  did  so  there  was  a  tremor  to  the  ship. 
What  could  it  mean  ? 

In  a  few  minutes  the  tank  was  empty  and  the 
divers  stepped  out  into  the  ship,  freed  from  the 
oppressive  weight  of  water.  The  ship  continued 
to  vibrate  and  seemed  to  be  in  motion. 

"  What  is  it?  "  asked  Mark  as  soon  as  he  had 
his  helmet  off. 

"  De  ship  am  free !  WVve  got  off  de  mud 
bank!"  exclaimed  Washington,  running  in  from 
the  engine  room. 

It  was  true.  Enough  had  been  dug  so  that, 
with  the  power  of  the  screw  working  backward, 
there  was  sufficient  force  to  pull  the  Porpoise  from 
her  perilous  position. 

"  Empty  the  tanks  and  rise  to  the  surface,"  said 
the  professor. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  ship  was  on  top  of  the 
waves,  the  adventurers  freed  from  the  double  dan- 
ger of  the  mud  and  sharks.  They  congratulated 


DIGGING  OUT  THE  SHIP  115 

each  other  on  the  good  outcome  of  the  fight  with 
the  monster  fishes. 

Weaned  with  their  labors  and  the  battle  under 
the  waves,  the  travelers  sat  up  on  the  deck  breath- 
ing in  the  fresh  breeze.  Then,  after  a  while,  sup- 
per was  made  ready  and  eaten  with  good  appetites. 

It  was  decided  hereafter  to  sail  along  near  the 
surface  at  night,  and  not  to  submerge  the  ship 
deeply  save  during  daylight,  when  it  was  easier 
to  distinguish  objects  under  the  water. 

Following  this  plan  the  Porpoise  steamed  along 
just  awash  that  night,  and  the  next  day  was  sent 
down  about  fifty  feet  below  the  surface. 

One  afternoon,  when  the  travelers  were  resting, 
having  partaken  of  a  fine  meal,  the  professor  went 
on  deck  to  make  some  observations,  the  ship  having 
been  raised  for  that  purpose.  He  came  down, 
somewhat  excited. 

"  Well,  we're  half  way  to  the  pole,"  he  an- 
nounced. 

"  How  can  you  tell?  "  asked  Mark. 

"  Because  we  have  just  crossed  the  equator. 
We  went  over  the  imaginary  line  three  minutes 
ago." 

"  I  was  wondering  what  made  it  so  warm," 
said  Jack. 

"  I  guess  you  dreamed  it  was  hotter,"  spoke  the 
professor.  "  It  has  been  just  as  hot  as  this  for 


ii6  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

the  last  few  days.  Crossing  the  line  makes  no  dif- 
ference." 

"  Then  we  are  really  in  the  southern  hemisphere 
now,"  said  Mark. 

"  That's  where  we  are,"  replied  Mr.  Hender- 
son. 

He  put  his  instruments  away. 

"  Well,  we  may  as  well  go  below  the  surface 
again,"  he  remarked. 

"  Come  quick!  Hurry  up!  "  yelled  Washing- 
ton from  the  deck.  "  Dar's  a  shipwreck  up  heah ! 
Somebody's  on  it !  " 


THE   ELECTRIC  BULLET   SPED   ON   ITS   WAY.— Page   112. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  STRANGE  SHIPWRECK 

THE  professor,  followed  by  the  boys  anct  Tom, 
Bill  and  Andy  hastened  on  deck.  They  saw 
Washington  pointing  excitedly  off  to  the  west. 
There,  rising  and  falling  on  the  easy  swell,  was 
the  wreck  of  a  large  vessel. 

She  had  been  a  three  masted  schooner,  but  now 
only  the  stumps  of  the  masts  remained  and  the 
craft  was  rolling  to  and  fro.  It  had  settled  low 
in  the  water,  and  was  quite  deep  by  the  head,  so 
that,  at  times,  the  waves  broke  over  the  bow  in  a 
shower  of  spray. 

But  what  attracted  the  attention  of  the  adven- 
turers more  than  anything  else  was  the  sight  of 
two  figures  near  what  had  been  the  after  cabin 
of  the  ship. 

There  they  stood,  frantically  waving  their  hands 
toward  those  on  the  submarine.  Across  the  water 
that  separated  the  two  craft,  there  came  a  faint 
hail. 

"  I  suppose  they  are  nearly  dead,"  exclaimed  the 
inventor.  "  We  must  save  them." 

117 


n8  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

He  ordered  the  Porpoise  sent  ahead  slowly 
toward  the  wreck.  The  distance  was  about  half 
a  mile,  and  was  soon  covered.  As  the  submarine 
approached  closer  those  on  the  schooner  could  be 
observed  more  plainly. 

"One  of  'em  is  a  woman!"  exclaimed  Jack, 
who  was  using  the  glasses. 

"  Let  me  see,"  spoke  the  professor. 

"You're  right,"  he  added.  "The  other  is  a 
little  girl." 

A  few  minutes  later  the  Porpoise  was  alongside. 
The  woman  and  child  came  to  the  rail  of  the 
schooner,  which  was  barely  five  feet  above  the 
waves. 

"  Can  you  jump  down,  or  shall  I  come  aboard 
and  get  you?"  asked  Mr.  Henderson  seeing  the 
woman  hesitate. 

"  I  can  jump  down,  if  you  will  catch  the  child," 
said  the  woman.  "  Oh  I  am  so  glad  you  came," 
she  added.  "  We  are  almost  dead  from  hunger 
and  thirst,  and  the  wreck  is  ready  to  sink  and  can- 
not last  many  hours  longer." 

"  Pass  the  little  girl  down  to  me,"  spoke  Andy. 
'  Then  you  jump.  We'll  save  you  all  right." 

The  little  girl  reached  the  deck  in  safety,  and 
the  woman,  who  proved  to  be  her  mother,  fol- 
lowed. 

"  Now  take  us  to  your  ship,"  said  the  woman. 


THE  STRANGE  SHIPWRECK  119 

<f  You  must  be  a  long  way  from  her,  as  she  is  not 
in  sight." 

"  Our  ship  is  right  here,"  spoke  Mr.  Henderson 
with  a  smile. 

"  Where,  I  don't  see  her,"  and  the  woman 
looked  in  all  directions. 

"  Allow  me  to  introduce  you  to  Profess  Amos 
Henderson's  famous  submarine,  the  Porpoise," 
spoke  the  inventor  with  a  bow.  "  But  come,  let 
us  go  below.  You  must  be  suffering,  and  here  I 
am  making  speeches." 

"  Indeed  I  am  hungry,  and  thirsty  too,"  said  the 
woman.  "  So  is  Nellie.  But  I  thought  this  was 
merely  a  small  boat,  sent  from  some  large  ship 
to  get  us." 

The  woman  and  girl  descended  to  the  cabin  of 
the  submarine,  where  Washington  set  before  them 
a  fine  meal.  Under  the  advice  of  the  professor 
they  partook  sparingly  of  food  and  drink  at  first, 
as,  having  eaten  nothing  in  many  hours,  the  in- 
ventor said  they  must  begin  by  taking  a  little  at 
a  time. 

As  soon  as  they  had  finished  and  become  some- 
what rested,  the  woman  told  her  story.  She  was 
Mrs.  Johnson,  a  widow,  her  husband  having  once 
owned  and  been  captain  of  the  schooner  that  was 
wrecked.  After  his  death  she  and  her  daughter, 
having  become  part  owners  of  the  craft,  disposing 


120  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

of  a  third  interest  to  the  former  mate  of  the  ship, 
had  set  out  on  one  of  the  voyages  to  South  Ameri- 
can ports. 

They  had  had  good  weather  going,  and  took  on 
a  valuable  cargo  of  lumber  and  rare  woods.  But 
the  return  trip  was  more  perilous.  Heavy  storms 
had  buffeted  the  craft  almost  from  the  time  of 
leaving  port,  and  in  one  heavy  blow,  ten  days  be- 
fore, the  ship  had  been  wrecked. 

"  What  became  of  the  crew?  "  asked  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. 

"  They  took  to  the  boats,"  replied  Mrs.  John- 
son. "  My  little  girl  and  myself  were  to  go  with 
the  mate  and  his  men.  The  waves  were  fearfully 
high,  and,  as  they  held  the  boat  close  to  the 
schooner  so  we  could  get  in,  a  big  roller  smashed 
the  little  craft.  The  men  must  have  all  been 
drowned  for  I  never  afterwards  caught  sight  of 
one  of  them." 

"  But  the  other  boats?"  asked  the  inventor. 
'  They  had  gotten  too  far  away  to  hail,  sup- 
posing that  I  would  be  taken  care  of  by  the  mate. 
There  was  nothing  for  Nellie  and  I  to  do  but  stay 
on  board,  expecting  the  ship  to  sink  every  minute." 

"And  you  have  been  there  ever  since?"  in- 
quired Andy. 

"  Ever  since.  That  was  ten  days  ago.  Every 
day  I  thought  it  would  be  our  last.  The  storm 


THE  STRANGE  SHIPWRECK  121 

passed  away  and  the  sea  became  calm  but  the  ship 
kept  settling  lower  and  lower.  Only  the  fact  that 
part  of  the  cargo  was  wood  kept  her  afloat  so  long. 
I  managed  to  get  some  provisions  and  water  up  on 
deck,  but  the  sea  had  spoiled  most  of  the  stuff. 
We  had  to  eat  only  a  little  at  a  time,  as  I  knew 
it  would  be  some  days  before  we  could  be  rescued, 
if  we  ever  were.  Two  days  ago  we  ate  the  last 
of  the  food  and  drank  almost  the  last  of  the 
water." 

"  Then  you  had  nothing  since  then,"  spoke 
Jack. 

"  Only  a  few  drops  of  rain  that  I  caught  on  a 
piece  of  sail,"  answered  Mrs.  Johnson. 

"  Never  mind,  you  can  have  all  you  want  now, 
mother,"  said  Nellie,  coming  over  to  pat  her  par- 
ent's cheek.  "  Oh,"  the  child  went  on,  "  I  was  so 
thirsty  I  could  just  cry  when  I  thought  of  such 
things  as  ice  cream  sodas." 

"  I  guess  you  could,"  agreed  Mark.  "  Well, 
we  can't  give  you  any  soda  water,  but  we  have 
plenty  of  the  other  kind." 

Mrs.  Johnson  was  much  interested  in  the  Por- 
poise and  Professor  Henderson  showed  her  all 
about  the  craft.  Though  the  quarters  were  rather 
cramped,  a  small  cabin  was  fitted  up  for  the  lady 
and  her  daughter. 

"  We  will  travel  a  bit  under  the  water  so  you 


122  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

can  get  used  to  it,"  said  the  captain  after  a  tour  of 
the  ship  had  been  made.  The  tanks  were  filled, 
and  the  Porpoise  sank  beneath  the  waves.  At  first 
Mrs.  Johnson  was  much  frightened,  and  Nellie 
cried.  But  when  they  saw  how  skillfully  the  ship 
was  managed,  and  how  easy  it  was  to  rise  again, 
they  lost  their  fears. 

For  several  days  the  voyage  was  continued. 
Mrs.  Johnson  and  Nellie  remained  aboard  as  there 
was  no  place  to  land  them,  and  they  said  they 
wished  to  stay  until  they  met  some  ship  sailing 
north. 

One  day,  just  at  dusk,  when  the  Porpoise,  after 
a  long  run  under  the  water  had  come  to  the  sur- 
face, the  professor,  came  up  on  deck  to  take  a 
look  around.  Washington  and  Andy  accompanied 
him. 

"  Looks  like  land,  off  there  to  the  left,"  re- 
marked the  old  hunter. 

"  Get  the  glasses,  Washington,"  said  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. "  It  may  be  a  ship." 

He  took  a  long  and  careful  look  through  the 
binoculars. 

"  It's  some  sort  of  land,"  he  announced, 
"  We'll  go  over  in  the  morning  and  see  what  it  is. 
Probably  it's  an  island,  for  there's  no  main  land  in 
these  parts.  We  are  in  the  middle  of  the  south- 
ern Atlantic  now." 


THE  STRANGE  SHIPWRECK  123 

The  next  morning,  after  breakfast,  the  Porpoise 
was  headed  toward  the  dark  spot  on  the  surface 
of  the  water  that  the  professor  had  gazed  at  the 
evening  before.  As  they  came  nearer  it  was  seen 
that  the  place  was  a  large  island. 

"  But  it's  a  mighty  queer  one,"  spoke  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. "  It  looks  more  like  a  big  volcano  than 
anything  else." 

As  the  ship  came  nearer  it  was  seen  that  this  was 
true.  The  island  rose  abruptly  from  the  surface 
of  the  sea  in  a  big  ridge,  slightly  rounded.  There 
appeared  to  be  no  signs  of  life  on  the  land,  but  in 
the  air  overhead  hovered  several  big  birds.  These 
circled  about  and  then  fluttered  down,  seemingly 
about  the  middle  of  the  island. 

"  We'll  sail  around  and  see  if  there's  a  place  to 
land,"  spoke  the  inventor.  "  There  doesn't  seem 
to  be  a  good  harbor  on  this  side." 

Slowly  the  Porpoise  made  the  circuit.  The 
island  appeared  to  be  almost  round.  When  they 
had  gone  about  half  way  around  Andy,  who  was 
staring  ahead,  cried  out: 

"  Look  out  Professor!  Don't  go  any  nearer  or 
we'll  be  sucked  into  the  whirlpool !  " 

The  inventor  looked  where  the  hunter  pointed. 
Then  he  beheld  the  strangest  sight  he  had  ever 
seen.  The  island  was  low  toward  where  Andy 
pointed  and  they  beheld  the  waters  of  the  ocean 


124  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

pouring  over  the  edge  of  it,  and  falling  down  into 
an  immense  hole  with  a  roar  like  that  of  Niagara 
Falls. 

"  Reverse  the  ship!  "  cried  Professor  Hender- 
son. "  Send  her  back  quickly,  Washington,  or 
we'll  be  sucked  down  1  " 

The  colored  man  lost  no  time,  and  the  big  screw 
was  sent  whirling  in  the  opposite  direction.  And 
it  was  high  time,  for  already  the  onward  rush 
of  the  falling  waters  was  slowly  drawing  the  ship 
toward  the  big  cavern. 

"  That  was  a  lucky  escape,"  commented  Amos 
Henderson.  "  Well,  as  we  can't  land  there  we'll 
try  the  other  way  around." 

The  ship  was  headed  in  the  opposite  direction, 
and,  after  an  hour's  sailing,  a  good  harbor  was 
discovered.  The  Porpoise  was  anchored  in  shal- 
low water  close  to  the  shore  and  in  a  small  boat  the 
professor,  Andy  and  the  two  boys  went  to  the 
strange  island. 

They  found  it  merely  an  immense  circle  of  land 
with  the  middle  part  taken  up  by  the  big  hole. 
And  such  a  hole  as  it  was !  It  was  so  wide  across 
that  they  could  not  see  the  farther  side,  and  the 
depth  they  could  only  guess  at.  Looking  down 
they  could  only  see  great  rolling  masses  of  clouds 
or  vapor. 

"  Perhaps  it's  steam,"  suggested  Jack. 


THE  STRANGE  SHIPWRECK  125 

"  Maybe  it  is,"  agreed  the  professor.  "  If  this 
is  a  volcano,  with  lava  in  it,  the  water  of  the  ocean, 
pouring  in  on  the  other  side,  may  be  changed  to 
steam." 

"  Do  you  suppose  this  hole  leads  to  the  centre  of 
the  earth?  "  asked  Mark.  "  I've  read  somewhere 
that  the  earth  is  hollow." 

"  Some  scientists  believe  it,"  commented  the  pro- 
fessor. "  This  looks  like  a  big  enough  hole  to 
lead  clear  through  to  China.  Hark,  you  can  hear 
the  roar  of  the  water  now." 

They  listened,  and  the  wind  brought  to  them  the 
sound  of  the  sea  pouring  down  into  the  unfathom- 
able depths. 

"  Let's  throw  a  big  rock  down,"  suggested  Jack. 
"  Maybe  we  can  hear  it  strike  bottom." 

With  the  aid  of  Mark  he  cast  a  big  boulder 
down  into  the  depths.  They  listened  intently,  but 
not  the  slightest  sound  echoed  back. 

"  I  guess  the  bottom  is  too  far  away  for  you  to 
hear  the  stone  land,"  said  the  professor. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  GHOST  AGAIN 

THEY  spent  some  time  looking  down  into  the 
hole.  The  masses  of  vapor,  or  clouds,  rolled  and 
swirled  hundreds  of  feet  below  them,  but  never 
broke  sufficiently  to  allow  of  a  clear  sight. 

"  Well,  we  had  better  go  back  to  the  ship,"  re- 
marked the  professor.  "  We  must  continue  our 
voyage." 

They  were  soon  on  the  Porpoise  and  steaming 
away  from  the  strange  island,  the  inventor  decid- 
ing to  get  far  off  out  of  the  influence  of  the  terrible 
waterfall. 

The  night  was,  as  usual,  spent  with  the  ship 
slowly  steaming  ahead  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 
It  was  getting  on  toward  twelve  o'clock  and  Wash- 
ington had  the  watch.  He  was  to  be  relieved  by 
Jack. 

The  latter  had  been  awakened  by  the  alarm 
clock  at  the  head  of  his  bed,  which  time-piece  he 
had  set  to  arouse  him  so  that  he  might  take  Wash- 
ington's place.  Jack  was  just  getting  the  sleep 

126 


THE  GHOST  AGAIN  #27 

from  his  eyes  by  a  vigorous  rubbing  when  he  heard 
a  loud  yell. 

"  Land  a'  Massy !  "  cried  Washington  from  the 
deck  above.  "  I's  goin'  t'  die  suah  I  De  ghostess 
am  after  me  ag'in  I  " 

Without  waiting  to  dress,  Jack  sprang  up  the 
ladder  and  was  soon  out  on  the  deck.  He  saw 
Washington  kneeling  down  in  front  of  the  conning 
tower  door  while,  at  the  after  end  of  the  deck,  was 
a  mysterious  white  object;  the  same  strange  shape 
mat  had  been  observed  before. 

"  I'm  going  to  solve  this  puzzle !  "  exclaimed 
Jack  to  himself  as  he  made  a  dive  toward  the  object 
in  white.  "  This  ghost  business  will  have  to 
stop!" 

But,  unfortunately  for  his  plans,  his  foot  slipped 
on  the  smooth  steel  deck,  and  he  went  down  in  a 
heap.  When  he  got  up  the  ghost  was  nowhere  to 
be  seen. 

Washington,  however,  was  still  kneeling  down 
and  praying  to  be  spared  from  the  attack  of  the 
midnight  visitor.  Jack  limped  over  to  the  colored 
man. 

"  Keep  still,"  said  the  boy.  "  It's  gone  now. 
What  was  it,  anyhow?  " 

"  Some  ghost  from  de  grabeyard,"  replied 
Washington. 

"  When  did  you  see  it  first?  "  went  on  Jack. 


i28  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  'Bout  ten  minutes  ago,"  replied  Washington. 

"  Well  it's  gone  now,"  said  Jack,  though  he  had 
to  admit  to  himself  that  the  affair  was  somewhat 
puzzling.  Professor  Henderson  had  been  awak- 
ened by  the  yells  of  the  colored  man  and  came  on 
deck  to  see  what  the  trouble  was.  He  appeared 
somewhat  annoyed  when  Washington  told  him 
what  had  happened. 

"  There  are  no  ghosts !  "  declared  the  inventor 
in  positive  tones. 

"  You  wouldn't  say  so,  Perfessor,  if  you'd  seen 
him,"  spoke  Washington.  "  He  were  all  in  white, 
tall  an'  slim,  an'  big  red  eyes,  an'  a  green  nose,  an' 
fire  comin'  from  his  mouth  an' — " 

"  Nonsense,"  interrupted  Jack.  "  It  was  noth- 
ing but  a  white  object,  Professor  Henderson.  I 
saw  it." 

"  And  what  do  you  think  it  was  ?  "  asked  the  in- 
ventor. 

"I  —  I  can  hardly  say,"  replied  Jack.  "  Of 
course  I  don't  believe  in  ghosts,  but  this  — " 

"  It  was  probably  a  mist  from  the  ocean,"  in- 
terrupted the  professor.  "  Don't  let  me  hear  any 
more  of  it.  Washington,  go  below.  Your  watch 
is  up  and  Jack  will  take  charge.  I  don't  believe 
there  will  be  any  more  ghosts." 

Nor  were  there  that  night.  The  Porpoise 
glided  along,  requiring  little  attention,  and  when 


THE  GHOST  AGAIN  129 

morning  broke  was  several  miles  nearer  the  south- 
ern pole. 

The  journey  was  continued  beneath  the  waves 
and  it  was  found  much  cooler  under  them  than 
upon  the  surface,  for  the  ship  was  in  the  midst  of 
the  equatorial  heat. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  all 
was  quiet  aboard,  there  came  a  sudden  yell  from 
the  engine  room.  Washington's  voice  could  be 
heard  calling  for  help.  Then  it  died  away  in  a 
groan. 

"  Something  has  happened ! "  called  Jack. 
'  Washington  is  in  trouble." 

He  hurried  toward  where  the  machinery  could 
be  heard  buzzing.  The  professor,  with  Andy  and 
Mark  followed.  They  expected  to  see  the  colored 
man  caught  in  some  shaft  or  belt,  but  he  was  no- 
where in  sight. 

"  Perhaps  he  has  fallen  into  the  ocean,"  sug- 
gested Mark. 

"  The  engine  room  does  not  open  into  the  sea," 
answered  the  professor. 

A  deep  groan  came  from  some  corner  of  the 
engine  room. 

"  There  he  is !  "  cried  Jack. 

But  a  careful  search  failed  to  reveal  Washing- 
ton. Still  he  could  be  heard  to  groan  at  intervals. 
Bill  and  Tom  came  and  aided  in  the  search,  while 


I3o  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Mrs.  Johnson,  who  was  worried  at  the  unusual  ac- 
tivity, asked  what  the  trouble  was. 

Captain  Henderson  did  not  tell  her,  for,  as  he 
said  afterward,  he  did  not  want  any  women  faint- 
ing away  on  his  ship.  At  his  request  Mrs.  John- 
son went  back  to  her  cabin,  and  the  hunt  for  Wash- 
ington continued. 

"  Here  he  is!  "  cried  Jack  at  last. 

The  boy  had  climbed  up  on  a  small  ladder  that 
led  to  the  big  storage  battery  tanks.  He  had 
looked  down,  and  there,  in  the  large  metal  box  had 
spied  the  colored  man  on  the  bottom.  Washing- 
ton was  unconscious  and  breathing  heavily. 

"  He  has  been  overcome  by  the  fumes  of  the 
sulphuric  acid!"  exclaimed  the  professor.  "We 
must  get  him  out  quickly  or  he  will  die !  " 

"I'll  get  him!  "cried  Andy. 

The  old  hunter  grabbed  a  small  step  ladder  that 
stood  against  the  wall  of  the  engine  room.  With 
this  on  his  shoulder  he  climbed  up  the  steps  which 
led  to  the  top  of  the  storage  battery  tank.  Then, 
by  means  of  his  ladder,  he  descended  inside. 

He  had  to  work  quickly  as  the  fumes  were  very 
strong,  but  he  managed  to  hoist  Washington  up  so 
that  Bill  and  Tom,  from  outside,  could  take  hold 
of  him.  Then  the  colored  man  was  carried  out  on 
the  deck,  where  the  fresh  air  and  some  restoratives 
the  professor  used  soon  revived  him. 


THE  GHOST  M3AIK 

"  Is  I  dead,"  were  Washington's  first  words,  as 
he  sat  up  and  looked  about  him. 

"  Not  this  time,"  replied  the  professor.  "  You 
had  a  close  call,  though.  How  did  it  happen  ?  " 

Washington  explained  that  he  started  to  clean 
the  battery  tank,  when  he  lost  his  balance  and  fell 
in.  He  cried  as  he  felt  himself  falling,  but  as  soon 
as  he  struck  the  bottom  of  the  tank  the  fumes  of 
the  chemicals  made  him  unconscious.  His  deep 
breathing,  which  had  sounded  like  groans,  alone 
served  to  attract  attention  to  his  location. 

In  a  little  while  Washington  was  all  right  save 
for  a  slight  weakness.  Captain  Henderson  made 
him  go  to  his  bunk,  and  ordered  him  to  remain 
there  until  morning. 

During  the  excitement  over  Washington's  mis- 
hap all  thought  of  steering  the  ship  had  been  for- 
gotten, and  when  Mr.  Henderson  went  to  the  con- 
ning tower  about  five  o'clock  he  found  that  the 
Porpoise  was  several  points  off  her  course  and  was 
headed  to  the  east  instead  of  to  the  south.  How 
many  miles  out  of  her  way  the  craft  had  steamed 
could  only  be  guessed,  but  as  she  had  been  going 
wrong  for  nearly  an  hour,  it  must  be  quite  a  few 
the  inventor  calculated. 

However,  he  said,  no  great  harm  had  been  done. 
Even  this  slight  accident  would  not  have  happened 
had  not  Bill,  who  was  in  the  conning  tower  steer- 


I32  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

ing,  forgotten  to  put  the  automatic  device  in  opera- 
tion when  he  left  the  wheel  to  join  in  the  search 
for  Washington. 

"  We'll  soon  make  up  the  lost  ground,"  said  Mr. 
Henderson.  "  Another  week  or  ten  days  ought  to 
see  us  at  the  end  of  our  journey." 

"And  what  will  we  do  when  we  get  there?" 
asked  Jack. 

"  We  will  make  some  important  geographical 
and  scientific  observations,"  said  the  professor. 
"  Not  only  that,  but  we  will  have  done  something 
that  no  living  person  has  ever  accomplished.  We 
reached  the  north  pole,  though  we  could  not  land 
on  the  exact  spot.  Let  us  hope  we  will  be  more 
successful  regarding  the  south  pole." 

The  professor  set  the  ship  on  her  course  again. 
Bill  and  Tom  got  supper  in  place  of  Washington, 
while  Mrs.  Johnson  helped  set  the  table. 

The  meal  was  eaten,  and  then  the  inventor 
started  the  ship  toward  the  surface,  following  the 
plan  of  not  sailing  beneath  the  waves  after  dark, 
in  order  to  avoid  accidents. 

The  craft  was  making  good  speed  ahead,  with 
the  big  screw  revolving  in  the  tunnel  and  spurting 
the  water  from  the  rear,  when  there  came  a  sud- 
den jar,  and  everyone  nearly  toppled  over  from  the 
quick  stopping  of  the  Porpoise.  At  the  same  time 
the  forward  end  seemed  to  go  up  in  the  air. 


THE  GHOST  AGAIN  133 

"What  has  happened?  Are  we  sinking?" 
cried  Mrs.  Johnson. 

"  I  think  we  are  going  up,"  spoke  the  professor 
in  cool  tones. 

"  In  the  air?  "  asked  the  lady. 

"  On  the  land,"  answered  the  inventor.  "  I 
think  we  have  struck  shore  and  slid  up  on  a 
beach." 

He  ordered  the  engine  stopped  and  hurried  to 
the  conning  tower  to  make  an  observation.  He 
turned  on  the  searchlight  and  looked  carefully  at 
what  the  beams  showed.  Then  he  came  back  to 
the  cabin. 

"  Well,  what  is  it?  "  asked  Mrs.  Johnson. 

"  We  have  gone  ashore,  just  as  I  supposed," 
said  Mr.  Henderson. 

"  And  whereabouts  are  we?  " 

"  On  the  coast  of  South  America." 

"Near  where?" 

"  Near  Terra  Del  Fuego,  the  land  of  fire  1 " 


CHAPTER  XVII 

ATTACKED  BY  SAVAGES 

"ARE  we  in  any  danger?"  asked  Mrs.  John- 
son. 

"  I  hope  not,"  replied  the  captain.  "If  the 
ship  is  not  strained  the  rising  tide  will  probably 
float  her  safely,  and  we  can  continue  our  trip.  We 
will  have  to  wait  until  morning  to  see,  however." 

"  And  if  the  ship  is  damaged?  " 

"  We  will  have  to  do  what  we  can.  We  will 
hope  for  the  best,  madam." 

The  professor  went  on  deck.  His  first  opinion 
of  the  accident  was  confirmed.  The  Porpoise,  in 
emerging  from  the  waves,  had  slid  well  up  on  a 
sandy  shore,  where  she  was  held  fast  because  the 
tide  was  rapidly  falling.  It  would  be  twelve  hours 
before  there  would  be  a  chance  of  her  floating 
again. 

The  mishap  had  occurred  because  the  ship  had 
gotten  off  her  course  when  Washington's  accident 
occurred,  and  had  not  been  set  right  in  time. 

However,  as  Mr.  Henderson  had  said,  there  was 
no  particular  danger,  unless  it  was  found  that  some 

J34 


ATTACKED  BY  SAVAGES  135 

of  the  plates  had  been  strained,  which  might  cause 
a  leak. 

The  night  was  passed  with  the  nose  of  the 
Porpoise  well  up  on  shore,  and  before  morning, 
as  the  tide  continued  to  fall,  more  and  more  of  the 
craft  became  exposed  until  the  whole  steel  body 
rested  on  the  sloping  beach. 

Jack  was  the  first  to  awaken.  He  was  up  with 
the  sun,  and  went  out  on  the  deck  to  take  a  view  of 
the  country  he  had  often  heard  about.  A  stretch 
of  wild  landscape  met  his  eyes,  and  to  the  left  and 
right  of  the  ship  the  waves  were  breaking  on 
jagged  rocks. 

"  It's  a  good  thing  we  didn't  hit  the  rocks," 
thought  the  youth. 

Mark  came  up  on  deck,  and  the  two  boys  looked 
over  the  scene.  It  was  a  strange  one.  Beyond 
the  beach  was  a  low  level  country,  green  in  places, 
with  now  and  then  a  patch  of  what  looked  like 
trees. 

"  And  what  are  those  brown  spots  moving 
about?"  asked  Mark. 

"  I  guess  they  are  herds  of  cattle,"  replied  Jack. 
"  You  know  South  America  is  a  great  place  for 
them. 

For  half  an  hour  the  two  lads  gazed  about.  Ex- 
cept for  the  stern  of  the  Porpoise  all  of  the  craft 
was  now  out  of  water,  and  one  could  have  jumped 


i36  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

from  the  low  deck  down  to  a  mound  of  white 
sand  of  the  beach. 

"  Let's  go  ashore  and  take  a  run,"  suggested 
Mark.  "  I've  almost  forgotten  how  to  walk  on 
dry  land." 

"  Go  ahead,"  answered  Jack.     "  I'm  with  you." 

"  All  right." 

The  boys  lost  no  time  in  getting  down  to  the 
beach.  They  found  it  hard  and  firm,  and  made 
their  way  to  the  strip  of  grass-covered  land  lying 
beyond.  Up  and  down  they  wandered,  finding 
many  curious  and  beautifully  marked  shells  where 
the  waves  had  washed  them. 

Suddenly  Jack  gave  a  big  jump  and  let  out  a 
yell. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Mark. 

"  I  thought  I  saw  one  of  those  cocoanuts  move," 
answered  Jack,  pointing  to  where  several  of  the 
big  shaggy  fruits  lay  under  a  tree  from  which  they 
had  fallen. 

"  I  guess  you're  right,"  spoke  Mark.  "  I  cer- 
tainly saw  one  of  them  take  a  little  side  step.  I 
wonder  what  does  it." 

As  the  boys  watched  they  were  surprised,  to  see 
one  of  the  cocoanuts  come  toward  them,  apparently 
advancing  without  any  visible  means  of  locomo- 
tion. 

"  This  is  a  queer  country,"  remarked  Jack,  get- 


ATTACKED  BY  SAVAGES  137 

ting  ready  to  run  in  case  the  strangely  moving 
cocoanut  might  be  a  warning  of  danger. 

"  Look !  There's  a  whole  lot  of  them  moving," 
cried  Mark. 

Sure  enough  a  dozen  or  more  of  the  nuts  began 
to  advance  toward  the  lads.  The  boys  were  not 
so  much  afraid  as  they  were  surprised.  But  a  few 
seconds  later  the  reason  for  the  strange  sight  was 
made  plain. 

As  they  looked  they  saw  one  of  the  nuts  roll 
down  a  little  mound  of  sand.  Then  they  noticed 
that  a  big  land  crab  was  on  the  tiny  hill  and  it 
was  evident  that  the  nut  had  fallen  from  his  claws. 

"  It's  the  crabs !  "  exclaimed  Mark.  "  I  re- 
member reading  about  them  now.  They  come 
ashore  from  the  water  where  they  live  part  of  the 
time  and  get  the  cocoanuts.  Then  they  smash  the 
shells  by  pounding  the  nuts  on  a  stone  and  eat  the 
white  meat  inside.  They  are  called  cocoanut 
crabs." 

"  I  was  beginning  to  think  we  were  in  some  en- 
chanted land,"  spoke  Jack. 

"  Well,  it  certainly  looked  queer,"  agreed  Mark. 

For  some  time  the  boys  watched  the  strange 
sight.  Then  they  walked  along  the  beach,  seeing 
several  large  star  fish,  and  some  big  horse-shoe 
crabs  that  had  been  stranded  by  the  tide. 

"  Look    at   that    immense    turtK' "    exclaimed 


i38  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Mark,  as  one  of  the  creatures  scuttled  over  the  sand 
toward    the    sea.     "  I'll    bet    she's    been    laying 

tggs!" 

"  Perhaps  so." 

They  made  a  rush  for  the  tortoise  but  were  not 
quick  enough,  for  she  slid  into  the  water  and  made 
off. 

"  Here's  her  nest,  anyhow,"  called  Jack,  as  he 
pointed  to  some  eggs,  thinly  covered  with  sand. 
"  Let's  go  back  and  take  them  with  us.  I've  heard 
they  are  good  eating." 

Jack  and  Mark  started  to  gather  up  as  many 
of  the  eggs  as  they  could  in  their  hats.  While 
they  were  thus  engaged  they  heard  a  call  from  the 
ship  and  looked  up  to  see  coming  toward  them, 
all  of  the  ship's  company  except  Washington. 

"  I  wonder  if  anything  could  have  happened," 
spoke  Mark. 

He  and  Jack  dropped  the  eggs  and  started  on  a 
run  toward  the  stranded  ship.  They  were  reas- 
sured, however,  when  they  saw  the  professor  wav- 
ing his  hand  at  them.  When  he  got  within  hail- 
ing distance  the  inventor  called : 

"  It's  all  right,  boys.  We're  just  taking  a  little 
walk,  before  breakfast,  for  an  appetizer.  It's  been 
some  time  since  we  were  on  land.  Washington 
says  he'll  have  some  fine  fried  ham  for  us  in  a 
little  while." 


ATTACKED  BY  SAVAGES  139 

"And  here  are  the  eggs  to  go  with  it,"  spoke 
Jack. 

"Have  you  found  a  hen  house?"  asked  Mr. 
Henderson  in  some  wonder. 

"  No,  but  we  discovered  a  turtle,  which  is  just 
as  good,"  replied  Mark.  The  professor  agreed 
with  him,  and  called  for  Washington  to  come  and 
get  the  eggs. 

'*  Wall  I  'clare  to  goodness !  "  exclaimed  the  col- 
ored man  as  he  gathered  the  product  of  the  turtle 
up  in  his  cook's  apron.  "  Dis  suttinly  am  a  queer 
contraption  of  a  country  to  find  eggs  growin'  in 
de  sand." 

He  shuffled  back  to  the  ship,  while  the  others 
walked  up  and  down  on  the  beach.  In  about  half 
an  hour  the  professor  suggested  that  they  return. 

"  Washington  must  have  breakfast  ready  by 
now,"  he  said,  "  and  I,  for  one,  am  hungry  enough 
to  enjoy  it." 

They  turned  toward  the  stranded  Porpoise  but 
no  sooner  had  their  eyes  taken  in  the  sweep  of 
the  ocean  that  lay  before  them  than  they  uttered 
cries  of  fear. 

Spreading  out  from  the  beach  in  a  big  half  cir- 
cle that  enclosed  within  its  curve  the  submarine, 
were  three  score  of  canoes,  each  one  filled  with  half 
naked  savages. 

"  The  natives  are  going  to  attack  the  ship !  " 


140  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

cried  the  professor.  "  We  must  hurry  back  or  we 
are  lost !  " 

He  started  on  the  run,  accompanied  by  the  boys 
and  men.  Mrs.  Johnson  and  her  daughter 
brought  up  the  rear.  The  adventurers  had  gone 
from  one  misfortune  into  another. 

At  the  top  of  their  speed  they  approached  the 
stranded  ship.  The  natives  saw  them  coming  and 
the  next  instant  hundreds  of  paddles  broke  the 
waves  into  a  .mass  of  sparkling  water  as  the  wily 
savages  urged  their  canoes  swiftly  toward  the  sub- 
marine. 

"  If  we  can  only  reach  it  first  we  can  hold  them 
off  until  the  tide  floats  us,  and  then  we  can  escape," 
said  the  professor. 

He  increased  his  pace  though  the  run  was  be- 
gining  to  tell  on  his  aged  frame.  The  adventurers 
were  now  within  an  eighth  of  a  mile  of  the  ship, 
but  the  savages  were  closer,  and  had  the  advantage 
of  being  able  to  make  greater  speed.  The  two 
forces  approached  nearer  and  nearer.  Finally  the 
first  of  the  canoes  reached  the  submerged  end  of 
the  Porpoise. 

With  wild  shouts  a  score  of  the  brown  men 
leaped  from  the  boats  and  scrambled  up  the  steel 
sides.  An  instant  later  they  were  joined  by  sev- 
eral canoe  loads  of  their  companions.  They 
swarmed  up  on  the  deck,  and  some  peered  down 


ATTACKED  BY  SAVAGES  141 

the  winding  stairs  that  led  to  the  interior  of  the 
ship. 

"  Too  late !  "  cried  the  professor.  "  They  have 
captured  the  Porpoise!  " 

"But  Washington  is  aboard!"  shouted  Jack. 

As  he  spoke  the  colored  man  was  seen  clamber- 
ing up  out  of  the  companion  way.  He  gave  one 
look  at  the  wild  natives  who  swarmed  over  the  ship, 
and  then,  with  a  yell  to  be  heard  a  long  way  off, 
disappeared  below. 

The  shouts  and  cries  of  the  savages  grew  louder 
and  they  seemed  to  be  doing  a  sort  of  war  dance. 

"  We  must  make  one  effort  to  drive  them  away," 
said  the  professor  in  desperation. 

"  We  haven't  even  a  revolver,"  spoke  Andy. 

"  Let's  use  stones,"  suggested  Jack,  grabbing  up 
a  handful  from  the  beach. 

"  Look  out  1  "  yelled  Mark.  "  They  are  going 
to  shoot  some  arrows !  " 

A  second  later  a  flight  of  the  weapons  filled  the 
air.  Fortunately  the  natives  were  too  far  away 
to  permit  the  shots  taking  effect,  but  it  showed  that 
they  intend  to  fight  and  take  possession  of  the 
ship. 

Even  this  did  not  frighten  Mr.  Henderson. 
His  vessel  was  more  than  life  to  him  and  he  kept 
on.  Several  arrows  fell  dangerously  close  and  he 
might  have  been  hurt  had  not  old  Andy  run  after 


I42  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

him  and  induced  him  to  go  farther  up  the  beach 
and  out  of  harm's  way. 

"  They  will  kill  Washington!  "  cried  Jack  as  he 
thought  of  the  colored  man  at  the  mercy  of  the 
savages. 

"  There  he  comes !  "  yelled  Mark. 

He  pointed  toward  the  ship  and  as  they  all 
looked  in  that  direction  they  saw  the  colored  man 
climbing  out  on  the  deck.  Under  one  arm  he  bore 
a  long  narrow  box,  and  in  the  other  hand  he  car- 
ried one  of  the  electric  guns. 

"  He's  goin'  to  fight  'em !  "  exclaimed  Andy. 
"  He's  got  a  gun  and  he  will  show  'em  what's 
what!" 

But  Washington  did  not  seem  to  have  any  such 
intentions.  With  a  yell  that  equalled  the  savage 
cries  of  the  natives,  he  sprang  over  the  side  of  the 
ship,  onto  the  sand  and  ran  toward  the  group  of 
adventurers.  A  flight  of  arrows  followed  him,  but 
he  was  not  hit. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

ON    LAND 

"WHY  don't  he  shoot  his  gun  at  'em?"  de- 
manded Andy,  capering  about  on  the  sand.  "  He 
could  soon  scare  'em  off !  " 

"  I'm  afraid  Washington  is  too  frightened  to  do 
anything  like  that,"  answered  Professor  Hender- 
son. "  He  is  lucky  to  have  escaped  alive." 

'  Wait  until  he  gets  here  with  that  gun,  an' 
I'll  do  some  huntin'  that  will  make  them  savages 
skip!  "  exclaimed  Andy. 

In  a  little  while  Washington  came  up  to  where 
the  others  from  the  Porpoise  stood  on  the  beach. 
The  colored  man  was  panting  from  his  run. 

"  De  most  monstrous  disproportionately  extra- 
dition ob  circumstantial  occurrances  dat  ever  trans- 
positioned  on  my  optical  vasionariness !  "  he  ex- 
claimed as  he  laid  his  gun  and  the  black  box  care- 
fully down  on  the  sand.  "  Ten  thousand  naked 
imps  of  darkness  swarmin'  ober  de  ship  an'  not  a 
pusson  to  say  what  dey  ought  to  do  an'  where  dey 
ought  t'  go !  It  am  suttinly  terrible !  " 

143 


144  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"Why  didn't  you  shoot  some  of  'em?"  de- 
manded Andy. 

"  Me  ?  "  exclaimed  Washington.  "  What  for  I 
want  t'  shoot  'em?  S'pose  I  want  'em  t'  git  mad 
at  me?" 

"  Well,  you're  a  great  one,"  went  on  Andy,  pick- 
ing up  the  gun.  "  I  guess  I'll  have  to  take  a  few 
shots  myself." 

"  Yes,  sah." 

From  Washington  the  adventurers  learned  how 
the  savages  had  silently  come  up  in  their  canoes  and 
surrounded  the  ship,  gaining  possession  of  it  before 
he  could  make  any  effort  at  defense,  even  had  he 
so  desired. 

"  What  are  we  to  do  now?  "  asked  Mrs.  John- 
son, when  they  had  retreated  out  of  sight  of  the 
savages.  "  The  natives  have  possession  of  the 
boat,  and  how  are  we  to  regain  her  when  there  are 
so  many  of  them?  " 

"  It  certainly  is  a  hard  nut  to  crack,"  admitted 
the  professor.  "  We  will  have  to  camp  out  on  the 
beach  for  a  while  and  see  what  happens.  Perhaps 
they  may  leave  the  vessel  when  they  find  it  will  do 
them  no  good.  They  can't  run  her." 

"  But  they  can  tear  her  all  apart  and  damage  the 
machinery,"  said  Jack.  "  Then  we  would  be  in  a 
pickle." 

"  Well,  we  won't  hope  for  any  such  bad  luck  as 


ON  LAND  145 

that,"  interrupted  the  professor.     "  We  will  look 
for  the  best." 

*  When  are  we  going  to  have  breakfast?  "  asked 
the  little  girl,  after  a  long  wait.  "  I'm  hungry, 
mother." 

'  We  will  have  it  pretty  soon,"  replied  Mrs. 
Johnson  in  order  to  quiet  her  daughter's  mind. 

"  But  I  want  it  now,"  continued  Nellie.  "  I'm 
very  hungry." 

"  Hush  !  "  said  Mrs.  Johnson. 

"  An'  I  had  de  finest  brekfust  what  was  ever  in- 
vented," said  Washington,  rolling  his  big  eyes. 
"  Mud  turlde  eggs,  ham,  preserves,  coffee  —  " 

4  That  will  do,  Washington,"  said  the  professor. 
"  It  only  makes  our  mouths  water  to  think  about 
such  things." 

At  the  mention  of  the  turtle  eggs  Jack  nudged 
Mark,  and  signalled  him  to  walk  to  one  side, 
When  they  were  out  of  earshot  of  the  others  Jack 
said: 

"  What's  the  matter  with  cooking  some  of  the 
eggs  that  are  left  on  the  sand?  There  are  plenty 
of  them,  and  there  is  no  sense  in  our  going  hun« 


"  How  you  going  to  cook  'em?  "  asked  Mark. 
"  I'll  show  you,"  replied  Jack. 
He  scooped  a  hollow  place  out  in  the  sand  until 
he  had  quite  a  hole.     This  he  banked  up  with 


i46  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

stones  until  he  had  a  small  oven.  By  arching  the 
stones  over  toward  the  top  there  was  left  a  sort  of 
circular  opening.  Over  this  Jack  fitted  a  monster 
clam  shell,  with  the  concave  side  uppermost. 

This  made  an  improvised  stew  pan.  Under- 
neath was  piled  small  bits  of  dry  drift-wood, 
which  a  match  soon  set  on  fire.  In  a  little  while 
the  water  in  the  big  shell  was  boiling. 

"  Now  get  some  other  shells  for  dishes,"  said 
Jack  to  Mark. 

Soon  Mark  had  piled  up  a  lot  of  smaller  shells. 

"  Help  me  gather  some  eggs  now,"  said  Jack, 
"  and  we'll  put  them  in  to  boil.  Then  we'll  in- 
vite the  rest  of  the  folks  to  breakfast." 

The  two  boys  soon  uncovered  from  the  sand  a 
pile  of  the  eggs,  and  in  a  little  while  they  were 
steaming  in  the  hot  water.  Then  Jack  arranged 
the  shell-dishes  on  the  sand.  He  went  over  to 
where  the  others  were  gloomily  considering  their 
plight. 

"  Breakfast  is  ready,"  he  announced. 

"  This  isn't  any  time  for  joking,"  spoke  Pro- 
fessor Henderson,  rather  sternly. 

"  But  I  mean  it,"  went  on  Jack.  "  Just  come 
over  and  see.  I'm  not  fooling  you." 

Wondering  what  he  had  done  they  all  followed 
him. 

"  Welcome  to  Hotel  Terra  del  Fuego !  "  cried 


ON  LAND  147 

Mark.  "  We  haven't  much  of  a  variety,  but  what 
there  is  we  can  recommend." 

He  began  to  dip  the  eggs  out  of  the  water  with 
a  bit  of  shell  and  placed  them  on  the  improvised 
dishes. 

"  Everyone  sit  down,"  commanded  Jack. 
"  The  bill  of  fare  is  ready." 

They  all  joined  in  the  short  laugh  that  followed, 
and  soon  were  seated  in  a  circle  about  the  beach- 
oven.  The  eggs  proved  to  be  very  good,  even 
though  there  was  no  pepper.  The  salt  of  the  sea 
water  they  were  boiled  in  was  more  than  sufficient. 

"  Now  if  there  was  only  bread  in  that  ammu- 
nition bag  Washington  brought  with  the  gun,"  said 
Andy,  "  we  wouldn't  want  a  better  meal." 

"  He'p  yo'se'f!"  exclaimed  the  colored  man 
with  a  grin  as  he  extended  a  canvas  bag  that  was 
tied  to  the  stock  of  the  electric  gun. 

The  old  hunter  opened  it  and  found  it  filled 
with  ship  biscuits. 

"  Well  I  am  stumped!  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  I  grabbed  up  de  wrong  thing  in  my  haste," 
Washington  explained.  "  I  thought  I  had  de 
electrical  lightning  bullets,  but  I  didn't.  How- 
somever  de  gun's  got  some  in  de  chamber." 

"  It's  a  lucky  mistake,"  commented  the  professor 
as  he  munched  a  biscuit  and  an  egg.  "  Bullets 
are  good  but  these  are  better,  when  one  is  hungry." 


i48  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

They  managed  to  make  a  fairly  good  meal,  so 
that  even  hungry  Nellie  was  satisfied.  The  boys 
found  a  spring  of  fresh  water  up  on  shore,  and  this 
furnished  something  to  drink,  for  which  they  were 
grateful.. 

They  sat  about  on  the  beach,  after  the  break- 
fast and  discussed  what  they  had  better  do.  It 
was  evident  that  an  attempt  to  regain  possession 
of  the  ship,  with  their  small  force  and  only  one 
weapon,  was  out  of  the  question. 

"  We've  got  to  use  strategy,"  said  Andy.  "  If 
we  could  play  some  trick  on  the  savages  we  might 
scare  them  away.  Otherwise  I  don't  see  what  we 
are  to  do." 

"  It's  a  bad  state  of  affairs,"  replied  professor 
Henderson.  "  Even  if  we  got  the  ship  we  might 
find  it  so  badly  damaged  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  run  it.  It  is  a  terrible  thing,"  and  he 
heaved  a  deep  sigh. 

The  hours  passed  with  no  change  in  the  situa- 
tion. The  savages  remained  in  possession  of  the 
submarine,  and  did  not  seem  inclined  to  quit  the 
vessel.  Most  of  them  were  inside,  but  quite  a 
number  paddled  about  the  stranded  craft  in  their 
canoes. 

There  was  nothing  for  the  adventurers  to  do 
but  to  await  developments.  With  no  chance  of  at- 
tacking the  force  of  natives,  they  might  consider 


ON  LAND  149 

themselves  lucky  if  the  savages  did  not  come  ashore 
to  give  battle. 

The  sun  was  high  in  the  heavens  when,  in  the 
shade  of  a  big  tree  where  they  had  all  taken  refuge 
from  the  heat,  Nellie  again  announced  that  she 
was  hungry. 

"  I  guess  the  boys  will  have  to  provide  another 
meal,"  said  Mr.  Henderson. 

Jack  and  Mark  said  they  guessed  they  could 
find  some  more  turtle  eggs,  and  Washington  volun- 
teered to  accompany  them.  As  they  were  looking 
for  a  nest  in  the  sand  they  saw  one  of  the  tortoises 
scurrying  down  to  the  ocean. 

"Git  her,  quick!"  cried  the  colored  man. 
"  Turn  her  ober  on  her  back !  " 

The  boys  did  so,  though  they  did  not  know  what 
Washington's  object  was.  The  big  animal  lay 
bottom  side  up,  vainly  moving  its  flippers.  In  a 
few  minutes  Washington  had  killed  the  turtle  and 
cut  it  out  of  the  shell. 

"  Now  we'll  hab  turtle  soup !  "  he  exclaimed. 

Soon  the  fire  was  again  blazing  in  the  improvised 
stove,  and  a  little  later  an  appetizing  smell  filled 
the  air.  Washington  had  made  the  soup,  and,  in 
addition,  had  cooked  a  number  of  the  turtle  eggs. 

Big  clam  shells  again  served  for  dishes  and  a 
better  meal  than  the  breakfast  was  served. 

"  Now  if  we  only  had  some  dessert,"  spoke  Mr. 


150  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Henderson  in  a  joking  tone,  "  we  wouldn't  want 
much  more.  But  I  suppose  dessert  is  out  of  the 
question." 

Jack  and  Mark  looked  at  each  other  and,  with- 
out a  word  went  off  toward  the  woods.  In  a  lit- 
tle while  they  came  back,  their  arms  filled  with 
cocoanuts. 

"  How  will  these  do  for  dessert?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  Fine !  "  cried  Mr.  Henderson. 

The  fruit  was  broken  open  with  stones  and  the 
delicious  milk  and  soft  pulp  eaten  with  much  relish. 
Then  the  adventurers  stretched  out  beneath  the 
trees  and  rested.  The  thoughts  of  each  one  were 
busy  with  plans  for  recovering  the  submarine, 
though  no  one  seemed  to  be  able  to  suggest  any 
thing. 

It  was  getting  dusk,  when,  somewhat  discouraged 
over  the  result  of  the  visit  of  the  savages,  they 
were  all  seated  on  the  beach.  They  were  begin- 
ning to  think  again  of  something  to  eat  when  Andy 
Sudds,  discovered  the  long  black  box  which  Wash- 
ington had  brought  with  him  in  his  flight  from  the 
Porpoise,  and  dropped  in  a  hollow. 

"  I  suppose  you've  got  something  very  fine  in 
there,  Washington  ?  " 

u  I  declare  to  goodness  I  don't  know  what  dat 
air  contraption  am  conglomerated  with,"  said  the 
colored  man.  "  I  jest  grabbed  it  up  and  run." 


ON  LAND  151 

The  old  hunter  had,  in  the  meanwhile,  taken 
the  cover  off. 

"  What  in  the  world  have  we  struck,"  he  ex- 
claimed. 

"  Sky  rockets!  "  cried  Jack,  with  a  glance  at  the 
contents  of  the  box. 

**  Yes,"  said  Professor  Henderson.  "  I  took 
seme  aboard  in  case  we  might  have  to  signal  for 
help  on  the  water." 

"Hurrah!"  yelled  Andy. 

"  What's  the  matter?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  We'll  use  the  sky  rockets  as  weapons  against 
the  natives !  "  shouted  the  old  hunter,  capering 
about  on  the  sand. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

REGAINING  THE  SHIP 

AT  first  the  others  did  not  know  what  he  meant. 
Andy  seemed  much  excited,  and  for  a  time  the  pro- 
fessor thought  the  heat  and  worry  might  have  af- 
fected the  hunter's  mind. 

"  We'll  show  'em  a  thing  or  two !  "  cried  Andy. 
"  I  once  scared  a  lot  of  Indians  this  way  so  they 
didn't  know  whether  they  were  on  their  head  or 
their  feet.  Hurrah  I  " 

"What  are  you  talking  about?"  asked  Mr. 
Henderson.  "  Hadn't  you  better  sit  down  and 
rest  a  bit?" 

"  I'm  all  right,"  replied  Andy.  "  I'm  talking 
about  those  sky  rockets.  They'll  be  better  than 
bullets.  You  see,"  he  went  on,  "  after  it  gets  dark 
we'll  shoot  the  rockets  over  the  ship.  The  savages 
will  think  they  are  in  the  midst  of  a  lot  of  falling 
stars,  and  if  they  don't  take  to  their  boats  and 
leave  us  the  ship  I'll  miss  my  guess,  that's  all." 

"  Good!  "  exclaimed  the  inventor.  "  We'll  try 
it." 

The    rockets    were    taken    out    and    examined. 

152 


REGAINING  THE  SHIP  153 

They  were  big  affairs  of  several  pound  weight  and 
were  intended  for  far-off  signalling  at  sea. 

Andy,  with  the  aid  of  the  boys,  Tom  and  Bill, 
soon  constructed  a  rough  sort  of  support  from 
which  to  set  off  the  fire-works.  As  soon  as  it  grew 
dark,  which  it  did  about  seven  o'clock,  prepara- 
tions were  made  to  try  the  experiment. 

With  a  whizz  and  roar  the  first  rocket  went 
sailing  skyward.  Up  through  the  black  night  it 
went,  trailing  behind  it  a  shower  of  fire  and  sparks. 
Then,  with  a  loud  report  like  that  of  a  gun  it  burst 
directly  over  the  ship  and  a  rain  of  brilliantly 
colored  globes  of  flame  descended. 

u  Shot  number  one !  "  cried  Andy,  who  was  set- 
ting off  the  rockets. 

For  a  few  seconds  after  the  first  flight  there  came 
no  sound  from  the  natives  at  the  ship.  Then, 
just  as  the  second  rocket  was  set  off  there  issued 
a  long-drawn  howl,  which  was  succeeded  by  cries 
of  fear. 

"  We've  waked  'em  up !  "  shouted  Jack. 

In  rapid  succession  several  more  rockets  were 
sent  over  the  Porpoise.  By  the  light  of  them  could 
be  seen  a  mass  of  natives  crowded  out  on  the  small 
deck,  while  others  were  in  their  canoes. 

"  I  think  I'll  try  it  a  little  lower  this  time,"  re- 
marked Andy.  "  Maybe  I  can  hit  some  of  'em !  " 

He  slanted  the  support  closer  to  the  ground  and 


154  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

set  off  two  rockets  at  once.  Straight  across  the 
sandy  beach  they  flew,  directly  toward  the  crowd 
of  natives  on  the  ship.  Right  into  the  midst  of 
the  savages  the  trailing  comet  of  fire  shot,  with  a 
hiss,  roar  and  sputter  that  was  enough  to  strike 
terror  into  the  bravest  heart. 

There  was  a  long  piercing  howl  of  fear.  Then, 
as  the  natives  felt  the  hot  sparks  scatter  over  their 
half-naked  bodies,  they  broke  into  a  wild  stampede. 
Over  the  side  of  the  ship  they  plunged,  into  the 
sea,  and  swam  off.  Those  in  boats  paddled  quickly 
away. 

For  good  measure  Andy  sent  another  rocket  into 
the  midst  of  the  fleeing  ones,  and  this  served  to 
quicken  their  departure.  By  the  light  of  the  last 
one  it  could  be  seen  that  the  ship  was  deserted, 
though  the  water  all  about  her  was  black  with  the 
swimming  savages,  and  the  canoes. 

"  I  guess  they  won't  come  back  in  a  hurry !  " 
cried  Andy.  "  Come  on !  We'll  board  the  ship 
now,  and  get  the  electric  guns  to  ward  off  any  fur- 
ther attacks !  " 

"  That's  the  talk!  "  cried  Mark. 

Toward  the  Porpoise  all  started  on  a  run.  As 
they  neared  her  they  found  that  the  rising  tide  had 
floated  her. 

"  We  must  see  if  the  natives  damaged  her," 
spoke  Mr.  Henderson  as  soon  as  he  set  foot  on 


REGAINING  THE  SHIP  155 

deck.  "If  they  have  it  will  be  a  hard  matter  to 
make  repairs  so  far  from  civilization." 

A  hasty  examination,  however,  showed  that  the 
savages  had  disturbed  little.  The  engine  was  soon 
set  in  motion,  and,  in  ten  minutes  the  ship  was 
steaming  away  from  the  coast,  headed  toward  the 
south,  the  goal  they  were  so  eagerly  seeking. 

As  soon  as  they  were  well  out  to  sea,  and  all 
sight  of  the  canoes  of  the  savages  had  been  lost, 
supper  was  served,  and  all  brought  good  appetites 
to  the  table.  For,  though  the  improvised  meals 
on  shore  had  tasted  good,  there  had  not  been  much 
to  them. 

For  several  days  the  Porpoise  was  kept  on  her 
course,  sailing  along  under  the  water  by  day,  and 
upon  the  surface  at  night.  It  was  one  pleasant  af- 
ternoon, while  Nellie,  Jack  and  Mark  were  sitting 
out  on  the  deck,  during  one  of  the  times  when  the 
boat  had  risen  to  the  surface  to  renew  the  air  sup- 
ply, that  a  strange  commotion  was  observed  off 
their  lee.  The  ocean  seemed  to  be  boiling. 

"  What  is  that?  "  asked  the  little  girl. 

The  two  boys  looked  to  where  she  pointed.  In- 
deed the  ocean  seemed  to  be  bubbling  up  and  down 
in  a  strange  manner. 

"  It's  a  school  of  porpoises,"  said  Jack. 

Just  then  the  water  became  alive  with  big  fish. 
They  leaped  over  each  other,  springing  high  into 


156  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

the  air  and  falling  back  into  the  sea  with  resound- 
ing splashes. 

"  They're  not  porpoises !  They're  whales !  " 
Baby  whales !  "  yelled  Mark.  "  Look  out  or  some 
of  the  big  ones  may  ram  the  boat !  " 

As  he  spoke  the  water  all  about  the  submarine 
was  seen  to  be  fairly  swarming  with  the  small 
whales.  There  were  scores  of  them,  and,  at  times, 
they  were  so  thick  that  it  appeared  possible  to 
walk  out  upon  them  without  getting  very  deep  into 
the  water. 

Suddenly  the  ship  careened  to  one  side  and  the 
sea  rushed  over  the  deck.  It  was  evident  that  one 
of  the  big  whales,  which  were  deeper  down  in  the 
water,  had  struck  the  vessel. 

Nellie  screamed  and  tried  to  grab  the  hand  rail 
that  was  about  the  platform.  She  missed  her  grip. 
The  next  instant  she  was  floundering  in  the  ocean, 
in  the  midst  of  the  school  of  whales. 

"  Man  overboard !  "  yelled  Jack,  remembering 
vaguely  that  he  had  read  this  was  the  proper  call 
to  make  in  case  of  accident. 

His  cry  brought  Washington  and  the  professor 
up  the  companionway  on  the  jump. 

"  Launch  the  boat !  "  cried  the  inventor  as  he 
saw  what  had  happened. 

Mark  was  already  in  action.  At  the  first  sight 
of  Nellie  slipping  over  the  side  he  had  thrown  off 


REGAINING  THE  SHIP  157 

his  coat,  broken  the  laces  of  his  shoes  in  order  the 
more  quickly  to  remove  the  foot  coverings,  and 
had  dived  into  the  swirling  water  which  surrounded 
the  submarine. 

He  struck  out  in  the  direction  where  the  littlf 
girl  had  disappeared,  and  as  her  golden  head  ap, 
peared  above  the  mass  of  foam  he  yelled  in  en- 
couragement. 

By  this  time  the  small  boat  was  launched  and 
the  colored  man  and  Jack  were  pulling  toward  him. 
Mark  succeeded  in  reaching  Nellie  as  she  was  go- 
ing down  the  second  time.  He  grabbed  her  long 
locks  and  managed  to  keep  her  up  until  the  little 
craft  was  alongside  of  him. 

"  Git  in  quick,  'fore  dem  whales  eat  yo'  upl  " 
cried  Washington. 

He  hauled  the  unconscious  child  in  first,  and 
then  Jack  gave  Mark  a  hand.  As  if  by  magic  all 
the  whales  had  disappeared  and  the  sea  was  quiet 
again.  In  a  few  minutes  the  rescuers  and  the  res- 
cued one  were  back  again  on  the  Porpoise,  where 
Professor  Henderson  soon  brought  Nellie  around 
again.  Beyond  the  shock  and  wetting  neither  she 
nor  Mark  was  harmed. 

It  was  Jack's  watch  on  deck  that  night.  He 
had  the  tour  from  eight  until  twelve  o'clock  and 
when,  about  ten,  every  one  but  himself  had  retired, 
he  took  his  position  in  the  door  of  the  conning 


158  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

tower  and  prepared  to  pass  the  time  as  best  he 
could. 

The  ship  was  moving  along  at  half  speed,  and, 
as  the  automatic  steering  attachment  was  working 
Jack  had  little  to  do.  He  sat  looking  at  the  stars 
that  twinkled  in  the  sky,  the  blazing  Southern  Cross 
showing  among  the  constellations,  when  he  heard 
a  slight  noise  near  the  companionway. 

He  looked  in  that  direction  and,  to  his  horror, 
he  saw  the  ghostly  white  shape  that  had,  on  pre- 
vious occasions,  caused  him  and  the  others  fright. 

At  first  the  boy  resolved  to  shut  himself  up  in 
the  tower  and  wait  until  the  uncanny  thing  had 
disappeared.  Then  his  courage  came  back  and  he 
thought  he  would  try  to  solve  the  mystery. 

He  argued  that  if  the  wierd  white  object  was 
human  and  could  witness  his  movements  the  best 
thing  to  do  would  be  to  try  and  creep  upon  it  un- 
observed. On  the  contrary,  if  the  ghost  was  some 
natural  phenomenon,  or  a  supernatural  agent,  all 
he  could  do  would  be  of  no  avail. 

So  he  decided  the  best  thing  to  do  would  be  to 
crawl  upon  the  thing,  keeping  as  near  to  the  deck 
as  possible  and  trying  to  hide  himself.  With  this 
in  view  he  put  on  a  long  rain  coat  that  hung  in 
the  conning  tower,  and  then,  like  a  snake,  com- 
menced to  wiggle  his  way  toward  the  middle  of 
the  platform  where  the  white  object  still  stood. 


REGAINING  THE  SHIP  159 

Nearer  and  nearer  to  it  Jack  came.  His  heart 
was  beating  fast  and  he  was  much  frightened,  but 
he  nerved  himself  to  continue.  As  he  came  closer 
he  could  see  that  the  object  looked  more  and  more 
like  a  man,  completely  robed  in  white  garments. 

Jack  was  now  within  ten  feet  of  the  strange  ob- 
ject. It  was  a  man,  he  was  sure  of  it,  but  whether 
a  present  or  former  inhabitant  of  the  earth  he  could 
not  decide.  Jack's  hair  was  beginning  to  raise. 
A  cold  shiver  ran  down  his  spine  as  the  white  thing 
lifted  an  arm  and  seemed  to  point  directly  at  him. 
At  the  same  time  it  groaned  in  a  deep  tone. 

Jack  let  out  a  yell  that  could  be  heard  all  over 
the  ship.  He  made  a  spring  for  the  object,  de- 
termined to  discover  what  it  was  or  die. 

At  that  instant  the  whole  ship  seemed  to  rise 
in  the  air.  It  left  the  water  and  began  moving 
skyward.  Right  out  of  the  waves  the  Porpoise 
was  lifted  until  the  big  screw  was  clear  of  the 
water  and  it  was  churning  around  in  the  tunnel 
without  any  resistance,  racing  at  top  speed  now  that 
it  had  no  water  to  thrust  against. 

Then  the  ghost  seemed  to  vanish  into  thin  air, 
and  Jack  felt  himself  falling  down  the  hatchway. 


CHAPTER  XX 

ON  A  VOLCANIC  ISLAND 

IN  an  instant  the  ship  was  in  confusion.  The 
professor,  followed  by  old  Andy,  Washington, 
Mark,  Bill  and  Tom,  came  rushing  from  their 
berths,  all  in  their  night  clothing,  to  see  what  the 
trouble  was.  They  met  in  a  tangled  mass,  stum- 
bling over  Jack  at  the  foot  of  the  steps. 

"Is  the  ship  on  fire?"  called  Mrs.  Johnson 
from  her  cabin. 

"  I  hope  not !  "  called  the  professor.  "  But 
something  has  happened.  Don't  be  frightened !  " 

By  this  time  Jack,  who  had  been  somewhat 
stunned,  recovered  his  senses  and  worked  his  way 
out  of  the  mass  of  bodies. 

'  The  ghost !  The  ghost !  "  he  cried.  "  I  saw 
him  again !  " 

"  Land  a'  massy !  "  yelled  Washington. 

"  What  has  happened  to  the  ship  ?  "  cried  the 
professor.  "  Is  it  a  tidal  wave?  " 

"  I  was  on  deck,"  panted  Jack.  "  I  saw  the 
white  thing!  I  crept  up  on  it!  All  at  once  the 
ship  rose  in  the  air!  " 

1 60 


ON  A  VOLCANIC  ISLAND  161 

"  And  it's  still  rising !  "  shouted  the  inventor. 
"  I  must  see  what  this  means !  " 

He  made  his  way  to  the  deck,  and  his  loud  shout 
soon  brought  the  others  up  to  him. 

"  Shut  off  the  engine !  "  Mr.  Henderson  called 
down  to  Washington,  who  hurried  to  obey. 

"What  has  happened?"  asked  Andy,  rushing 
towards  him. 

"  We  have  run  upon  an  island,"  answered  the 
professor.  "  This  is  the  worst  thing  that  has  yet 
happened  to  us." 

'  What  sort  of  an  island  is  it  that  shoots  you  up 
in  the  air?  "  asked  the  old  hunter. 

"  It's  hard  to  say,"  replied  Mr.  Henderson. 
'*  We  will  have  to  wait  until  morning  to  find  out." 

The  boys  and  men  went  up  on  deck  and  there  be- 
held a  curious  sight.  The  Porpoise  had  been  lifted 
bodily  from  the  surface  of  the  ocean  where  she  had 
been  sailing  and  was  now  raised  about  ten  feet 
above  the  crest  of  the  billows.  It  was  too  dark  to 
see  the  extent  of  the  island  she  rested  on,  but,  from 
the  circle  of  foam  around  the  outer  edge  it  did 
not  appear  to  be  very  big. 

The  excitement  occasioned  by  the  appearance  of 
the  ghost,  Jack's  yells  and  fall,  and  the  rising  of 
the  ship,  had  subsided  somewhat.  Mrs.  Johnson 
and  her  daughter,  who  were  much  frightened,  were 
assured  there  was  no  immediate  danger,  and  the 


i6a  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

men  and  boys  put  on  more  substantial  clothing  than 
that  of  their  night  robes. 

It  seemed  as  if  morning  would  never  come,  but 
at  length  there  was  a  pale  light  in  the  east  and 
soon  it  changed  to  a  rosy  glow,  showing  that  the 
sun  was  coming. 

The  professor  was  early  on  deck,  and  Mark  and 
Jack  were  not  far  behind.  As  soon  as  it  was  light 
enough  they  could  see  that  the  ship  was  held  fast 
on  top  of  a  small  rocky  isle,  about  one  hundred 
feet  in  diameter,  which  rose  abruptly  from  the 
water. 

"  It's  a  volcanic  island,"  decided  the  professor. 
"  We  are  in  the  midst  of  subterreanean  disturb- 
ances and  this  is  probably  one  of  the  effects  of  some 
under-sea  eruption.  The  pinnacle  of  rock  rose 
from  the  ocean,  forced  up  by  some  power  under- 
neath, just  as  our  ship  came  over  it.  That  accounts 
for  the  sudden  rising  into  the  air  of  the  Porpoise. 
No  wonder  we  were  all  scared." 

;'  The  next  question,"  began  old  Andy,  "  is  how 
are  we  to  get  off  ?  " 

;t  That's  the  point,"  agreed  Mr.  Henderson. 
"  Here  we  are,  high  and  dry,  and  we  might  as  well 
be  a  broken  flying  machine  as  a  submarine  for  all 
the  power  we  have." 

"Will  we  have  to  stay  here  forever?"  asked 
Nellie,  who  had  come  up  on  deck. 


ON  A  VOLCANIC  ISLAND  163 

"  I  hope  not,"  answered  the  professor,  smiling 
for  the  first  time  since  the  accident.  "  We  will 
find  a  way  to  get  down,  never  fear,  little  girl." 

"  I  suppose  we  might  dig  some  sort  of  a  canal 
down  to  the  water,"  remarked  Jack.  "  If  we 
could  we  might  float  the  ship." 

u  I'm  afraid  you'd  find  it  slow  digging  through 
this  volcanic  rock,"  answered  Andy.  "  It's  like 
flint." 

"  Well,  there's  no  use  worrying  over  it,"  went 
on  the  professor  in  as  calm  a  tone  as  he  could  mus- 
ter. "  It's  time  for  breakfast,  and  we  have  to  eat 
whether  we're  on  the  top  of  an  island  that  shoots 
out  of  the  water  when  you  least  expect  it,  or  sail- 
ing along  as  we  ought  to." 

Accordingly  Washington  prepared  the  morning 
meal,  and  they  all  found  they  had  appetites  for  it, 
in  spite  of  their  fright.  Afterward  they  all  came 
on  deck  again  and  looked  about  them. 

They  were  in  the  midst  of  a  wild  waste  of  water. 
Not  a  sign  of  land  could  be  seen  in  any  direction, 
and  there  was  no  evidence  of  a  sail  or  steamship 
as  far  as  the  horizon  showed. 

The  little  island  which  held  the  Porpoise  so 
close  a  prisoner  was  a  mere  speck  in  the  vast  ocean, 
but  it  was  large  enough  to  put  an  end,  temporarily 
at  least,  to  the  progress  of  the  powerful  submarine. 

The  professor  and  the  boys  went  over  the  side 


164  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

and  climbed  down  to  the  rock.  Then  the  inventor 
verified  his  surmise  that  the  rocky  point  was  of 
volcanic  origin.  It  was  also  seen  that  there  was 
little  chance  to  get  the  craft  back  into  the  ocean. 

"  I  guess  we're  doomed  to  stick  here  for  some 
time,"  remarked  Mr.  Henderson,  with  a  grim 
smile.  "  The  rock  has  caught  us  squarely  and 
nothing  short  of  dynamite  will  free  us.  To  use 
the  explosive  might  mean  the  destruction  of  the 
ship,  and  I  dare  not  risk  it." 

Gloom  settled  over  the  party  in  spite  of  the  ef- 
forts the  professor  made  to  be  cheerful.  Wash- 
ington, after  the  first  few  minutes  of  fright,  re- 
gained his  usual  good  spirits,  but,  no  matter  how 
he  laughed  and  joked,  there  was  a  feeling  of  ter- 
ror in  every  heart. 

They  realized  their  helplessness,  and  knew  that 
unless  another  upheaval  of  nature  occurred  there 
was  small  likelihood  of  their  release. 

On  the  third  day  of  their  strange  adventure  Pro- 
fessor Henderson  resolved  on  a  bold  step. 

"  We  must  use  dynamite,"  he  declared.  "  If 
we  stay  here  on  this  desolate  rock  we  are  bound 
to  perish  sooner  or  later,  for  our  food  cannot  last 
many  months,  though  we  have  a  large  supply.  We 
are  out  of  the  path  of  steamers  and  only  by  chance 
would  one  pass  here.  With  care  we  may  be  able 
to  blast  the  rock  so  that  the  ship  will  not  be 


ON  A  VOLCANIC  ISLAND  165 

permanently  damaged.  What  do  you  all  say?  I 
would  like  your  advice,  for  this  concerns  all  of 
us." 

One  after  the  other  all  said  they  were  willing  to 
abide  by  whatever  the  inventor  did.  Accordingly 
he  made  his  preparations.  Washington,  with  a 
hammer  and  chisel,  was  set  to  cutting  a  fair  sized 
hole  in  the  big  rock,  as  far  away  from  the  ship  as 
possible. 

He  was  two  days  at  the  job,  and,  during  this 
time  those  on  the  stranded  Porpoise  watched  in 
vain  for  the  sight  of  a  vessel. 

"  I  am  going  to  put  the  dynamite  in,"  announced 
Mr.  Henderson  one  morning.  "  We  must  all  get 
into  the  small  boat  and  row  some  distance  away, 
as  there  is  no  telling  what  the  result  of  the  ex- 
plosion may  be." 

"  Suppose  the  submarine  is  destroyed?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Johnson. 

'  Then  we  will  have  to  sail  for  the  nearest  land 
in  the  small  boat,"  replied  the  captain.  "  I  will 
provision  it  and  we  will  take  all  the  precautions  we 
can." 

It  was  with  anxious  hearts  that  the  little  party 
embarked  in  the  little  craft  that  was  carried  on  the 
Porpoise.  It  was  barely  large  enough  to  hold 
them.  The  professor  was  the  last  in,  and  he 
lighted  a  long  fuse  that  led  to  the  dynamite  before 


1 66  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

taking  his  seat.     Then  with  Tom  and  Bill  at  the 
oars  the  little  craft  moved  away. 

"  How  long  before  the  explosion  will  take 
place?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  I  timed  the  fuse  for  ten  minutes,"  answered 
Mr.  Henderson.  "  That  will  enable  us  to  get  far 
enough  away  so  we  will  not  be  swamped  by  a 
wave." 

Five  minutes  later  Mark,  who  was  intently 
watching  the  volcanic  rock,  gave  a  loud  cry. 

"  There  she  goes !  "  he  shouted. 

They  all  looked  to  behold  a  wonderful  thing. 
As  easily  as  though  it  was  some  conjuring  trick 
the  rock  began  to  settle  down  in  the  water.  Lower 
and  lower  it  went  until  only  the  tallest  jagged 
points  showed  above  the  waves,  whose  crested  tops 
the  keel  of  the  ship  now  almost  touched. 

"  That  isn't  the  explosion !  "  exclaimed  the  pro- 
fessor. "  The  fuse  has  not  had  time  to  get  to  the 
powder  yet." 

"  But  the  rock  is  disappearing !  "  yelled  Andy. 

As  he  spoke  the  big  pile  of  volcanic  stone  van- 
ished completely  and  the  Porpoise  floated  easily  on 
the  surface  of  the  sea. 

"Hurrah  I  "cried  Mark. 

"  It  am  de  most  kloslostrous  occurranceness  dat 
eber  transpositioned  itself!"  exploded  Washing- 
ton. 


ON  A  VOLCANIC  ISLAND  167 

"  Let's  row  back  to  the  ship  now  1  "  cried  Mark. 

"  Not  yet !  "  said  the  professor  quickly.  "  The 
dynamite  has  not  gone  off  yet." 

'*  There  it  goes  now,"  remarked  Jack. 

At  that  instant  a  big  column  of  water  shot  up- 
ward and  a  dull  rumbling  could  be  heard.  A  few 
seconds  later  the  little  boat  rocked  violently  from 
the  effects  of  the  waves.  Then  the  sea  became 
calm,  and  the  Porpoise  could  be  seen  dancing  up 
and  down  on  the  heaving  billows. 

"  Now  we  can  go  back  in  safety,"  spoke  Mr. 
Henderson,  and  Tom  and  Bill  bent  to  the  oars. 

"What  happened?"  asked  Mrs.  Johnson. 
"  The  rock  seemed  to  disappear  before  the  ex- 
plosion occurred." 

"  That's  exactly  what  it  was,"  explained  the  in- 
ventor. "  By  some  strange  freak  of  nature  the 
volcanic  mass  dropped  back  into  the  ocean  a  little 
before  I  was  ready  to  blow  it  to  pieces.  In  settling 
down  it  lowered  the  ship.  Then  the  explosion  oc- 
curred beneath  the  waves.  If  I  had  waited  a  lit- 
tle while  I  need  not  have  risked  the  dynamite." 

"  Well,  there  was  no  guarantee  that  the  rock 
would  go  back  where  it  came  from,"  remarked 
Jack. 

"  No,  we  had  to  act,"  agreed  the  professor. 
"  But  now  let  us  go  aboard." 

They  rowed  back  to  the  Porpoise,  which  they 


168  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

found  had  sustained  no  damage  from  the  queer  ex- 
perience it  had  been  through. 

The  motors  were  set  in  motion  and  in  a  little 
while  the  craft  was  again  moving  through  the 
water  out  of  the  dangerous  vicinity  of  the  volcanic 
area. 

"Who  has  the  two  watches  to-night?"  asked 
Mr.  Henderson  after  supper  had  been  served. 

"  Washington  and  Andy,"  answered  Jack,  who 
kept  track  of  the  matter. 

"  I  guess  we'll  change  it,  and  have  you  and 
Mark  take  them,"  went  on  the  captain.  He  gave 
Jack  a  peculiar  look,  and  made  a  sign  to  him  not 
Jo  say  anything.  Wondering  what  was  to  come 
Jack  went  up  on  deck  to  watch  the  sunset. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

CAUGHT  IN  A  WHIRLPOOL 

THE  boy  was  joined  a  little  later  by  the  captain, 
who,  coming  close  to  him  whispered: 

"  I  am  going  to  try  to  discover  the  ghost  to- 
night. That  is  why  I  wanted  you  boys  on  hand 
to  help  me.  This  thing  must  be  stopped  if  it  is  a 
joke,  and,  if  it  isn't — " 

"  Do  you  think  it  is  some  one  playing  tricks  ?  " 
asked  Jack. 

"  I  don't  know  what  to  think,"  answered  Mr. 
Henderson.  "  We  will  see  what  happens  to- 
night." 

Mark  came  on  deck  a  little  while,  and  the  three 
talked  of  the  strange  appearances  of  the  mysterious 
white  object.  The  boys  told  of  their  experiences, 
and  Jack  related  more  fully  his  on  the  night  the 
ship  went  up  on  the  big  rock  upheaval. 

"  I  don't  believe  in  ghosts,"  said  Mr.  Hender- 
son, "  I'm  going  to  lay  this  one,"  and  he  smiled 
grimly. 

Night  settled  down.  Jack,  who  had  the  first 
tour  under  the  new  arrangement,  had  made  himself 

169 


170  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

comfortable  in  the  conning  tower,  and  Mr.  Hen- 
derson had  hidden  himself  in  the  companion-way. 
His  idea  was  to  thus  guard  both  openings  into  the 
ship  and  ascertain  whether  the  ghost  came  from 
within  or  without  the  craft. 

Up  to  a  short  time  before  twelve  o'clock  noth- 
ing out  of  the  ordinary  happened.  The  only  sound 
was  the  lapping  of  the  waves  on  the  steel  sides  of 
the  Porpoise,  and  now  and  then  a  splash  as  a  big 
fish  leaped  out  of  the  water.  There  was  only 
the  slightest  breeze. 

Jack  who,  somehow  or  other,  felt  much  sleepier 
than  usual,  caught  himself  nodding  several  times. 
Once  he  awoke  with  a  start  and  realized  that  he 
had  been  dozing. 

"  Come,  come,"  he  remarked  to  himself,  "  this 
will  not  do  at  all.  This  is  a  fine  way  to  watch  for 
a  ghost." 

He  remained  wide  awake  for  perhaps  five 
minutes.  Then  he  was  off  to  the  land  of  nod 
again.  He  was  just  dreaming  that  he  was  skat-" 
ing  on  a  pond  and  was  playing  snap  the  whip  with 
a  lot  of  boys,  when  he  awoke  with  a  start. 

He  felt  something  pressing  on  his  chest  and  to 
his  horror,  as  he  looked  up,  he  saw  a  big  towering 
white  object  standing  over  him.  A  second  glance 
showed  him  it  was  a  man,  or  the  semblance  of  one, 
and  the  thing's  foot  was  on  his  chest 


CAUGHT  IN  A  WHIRLPOOL          171 

With  a  terrified  scream  Jack  sprang  up,  upset- 
ting the  ghost,  which,  the  boy  thought  at  the  time, 
seemed  rather  heavy  for  an  unearthly  spirit. 

"Did  you  catch  it?"  cried  the  professor. 

"No!  Yes!  I  don't  know!"  yelled  Jack, 
struggling  to  his  feet  in  time  to  see  the  white  object 
glide  down  the  stairs  that  led  from  the  conning 
tower  into  the  forward  cabin. 

"  Run  after  it!  We  must  solve  the  mystery!  " 
cried  Mr.  Henderson  springing  from  the  compan- 
ionway  up  on  deck. 

But  at  that  moment  the  ship  began  to  whirl 
about  in  a  circle  slowly  at  first,  but  with  increasing 
speed  until  Jack  and  the  professor  felt  sick  and 
dizzy.  All  about  the  water  seemed  to  be  bubbling 
and  boiling,  while,  at  the  same  time,  there  arose  on 
the  air  a  mournful  howl. 

The  professor  jumped  to  the  rail  and  looked 
over  the  side.  What  he  saw  made  him  recoil  with 
horror. 

"  Quick  I  Close  the  man-hole  hatch !  "  he  cried. 
"  Shut  the  door  of  the  conning  tower  1  " 

"  What  is  it?  "  Jack  managed  to  ask. 

"  We  are  caught  in  a  whirlpool !  "  Mr.  Hen- 
derson yelled  as  he  leaped  down  the  companion- 
way  and  pulled  the  heavy  steel  cover  after  him. 

Stricken  with  a  nameless  dread,  Jack  closed  tbe 
water-tight  door  of  the  conning  tower  and  madr 


172  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

his  way  to  the  cabin.     He  could  hardly  get  down 
the  stairs,  so  swiftly  was  the  ship  whirling  about. 

He  found  the  captain  busy  in  the  engine  room 
and,  in  response  to  calls  Washington  and  Mark 
came  hurrying  in.  They  had  been  awakened  by 
the  commotion  and  the  strange  movements  of  the 
Porpoise. 

"  Turn  on  all  the  lights,"  ordered  the  inventor. 
"  We  must  prepare  for  the  worst." 

The  incandescents  were  soon  glowing  and  in  the 
glare  the  frightened  adventurers  gathered  about 
Mr.  Henderson,  wondering  what  new  terror  had 
befallen  them. 

"  See !  "  exclaimed  the  inventor.  "  We  are  go- 
ing comparatively  slow  now,  but  we  are  on  the 
outer  edge.  Wait  until  we  reach  the  centre." 

He  pointed  to  a  compass  and,  as  the  needle 
pointed  steadily  to  the  north  the  card  seemed  to  be 
going  around  like  the  hands  of  a  clock  that  has  lost 
the  balance  and  escapement  wheels.  The  ship 
made  three  complete  circles  a  minute. 

Pale  and  frightened,  Mrs.  Johnson  came  from 
her  cabin,  whence  the  terrified  cries  of  Nellie  could 
be  heard. 

"  Are  we  sinking?  "  she  asked. 

"  Sinking  will  never  harm  the  Porpoise,"  replied 
Mr.  Henderson.  "  This  is  something  decidedly 


CAUGHT  IN  A  WHIRLPOOL          173 

"  I  know !  It  is  a  whirlpool !  "  exclaimed  the 
lady. 

"I'm  dizzy;  I'm  so  dizzy!"  wailed  Nellie. 
"  Please  stop  the  ship  from  going  round,  Mr.  Hen- 
derson." 

She  came  from  her  bed  crying,  and  all  her 
mother  could  do  did  not  quiet  her. 

Meanwhile  the  submarine  continued  to  whirl 
about  faster  and  faster  in  the  swirling  waters. 
Five  times  each  minute  now  it  made  the  circuit, 
and,  like  the  coils  of  a  boa  constrictor  that  is  en- 
folding its  victim,  the  circles  continually  grew 
smaller. 

"  We  are  being  sucked  down,"  said  Jack  in  a 
low  tone  as  he  glanced  at  the  depth  gage,  and  noted 
that  it  showed  them  to  be  thirty  feet  under  water. 

"  That  is  so,"  remarked  Mr.  Henderson  quietly. 

"  What  will  be  the  result?  "  asked  Mrs.  John- 
son. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  was  the  answer,  and  the  cap- 
tain turned  aside.  He  seemed  to  have  lost  all 
courage  in  the  face  of  the  new  disaster. 

"  Can't  we  empty  the  tanks  and  rise  to  the  sur- 
face? "  asked  Andy. 

"  The  tanks  are  not  filled,"  replied  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. "  What  is  taking  us  down  is  the  force  of 
the  whirlpool  and  not  the  weight  of  water." 

"  Then  you  fear  for  the  worst?  "  asked  Andy. 


174  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  I  do,"  said  the  captain  simply. 

"  Don't  give  up  the  ship !  "  exclaimed  the  old 
hunter  suddenly.  "  Never  say  die !  It's  a  long 
lane  that  has  no  turns !  Hip !  Hip !  Hurrah  1  " 

They  all  turned  to  stare  at  the  old  man. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Mr.  Henderson  in  a  sooth- 
ing tone,  that  one  would  use  toward  a  baby,  or  a 
person  not  right  in  their  head.  "  Never  mind. 
We  may  be  saved." 

"  Oh  I'm  not  crazy !  "  exclaimed  Andy.  He 
tried  to  caper  about  but  the  motion  of  the  ship 
made  him  dizzy  and  he  had  to  sit  down.  "  I'm 
all  right  1  I  just  happened  to  think  of  some- 
thing!" 

"What  is  it?"  asked  the  captain  eagerly. 

"  Send  the  ship  ahead !  "  exclaimed  Andy. 
"  Speed  her  as  fast  as  she  will  go.  Try  her 
strength  against  the  force  of  the  whirlpool  I  We 
may  win !  " 

"  Good  1  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Henderson.  "  I  was 
too  much  depressed  to  think  of  that!  The  ship 
has  powerful  engines.  Queer  you  should  remem- 
ber that  instead  of  me.  Come,  Washington,  start 
the  screw  going !  We  will  try  to  beat  the  whirl- 
pool!" 

The  submarine  was  now  whirling  around  so 
rapidly  that  it  was  difficult  for  any  one  to  stand 
without  leaning  against  the  sides  or  holding  on  to 


CAUGHT  IN  A  WHIRLPOOL          175 

something.  It  was  going  lower  and  lower  down, 
as  the  gage  showed. 

Soon  a  throb  that  was  felt  through  the  length  of 
the  craft  told  that  the  engine  had  started.  The 
vibration  increased  until  it  seemed  that  the  ship 
would  be  torn  apart.  Never  had  the  big  screw 
revolved  at  greater  speed. 

For  a  while  the  struggle  between  the  force  of 
man  represented  by  the  engine,  and  the  power  of 
nature,  embodied  in  the  whirlpool,  seemed  equal. 
Neither  could  gain  the  mastery.  The  ship  con- 
tinued to  slide  around  in  ever  narrowing  circles 
while  the  big  cable  of  water,  forced  through  the 
tunnel  by  the  screw,  was  like  a  cataract. 

"  Which  will  win?  "  asked  the  professor  softly 
to  himself. 

He  crawled  to  the  gages  and  watched  them. 
Only  by  their  needles  could  it  be  told  when  the 
battle  had  turned  in  favor  of  the  adventurers. 

The  circular  motion,  that  was  now  terrible  in 
its  speed  and  power,  seemed  to  culminate  in  a  rush 
that  almost  overturned  the  ship.  In  the  engine 
room  Washington  was  laboring  to  keep  the  ma- 
chine at  top  speed.  He  put  on  the  last  ounce  of 
power. 

"  Hurrah  !  "  yelled  the  professor  suddenly.  "  I 
think  we  shall  win!  " 

He   pointed   to   the   depth   gage.     The  needle, 


176  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

which  had  showed  a  constantly  increasing  record, 
until  it  was  now  at  two  hundred  feet,  had  stopped. 
It  showed  they  were  going  no  lower. 

Then  Mr.  Henderson  looked  at  the  indicator 
which  showed  the  progress  straight  ahead.  The 
needle  was  beginning  to  tremble.  As  he  watched 
he  saw  it  move,  slowly  at  first,  until,  as  the  power- 
ful screw  won  a  victory  over  the  terrible  whirl- 
pool. The  gage  marked  one,  two  and  then  three 
miles  an  hour. 

"  We  are  leaving  the  swirling  waters !  "  cried 
Mr.  Henderson. 

Then,  all  at  once,  as  though  it  was  an  arrow  shot 
from  a  gigantic  bow,  the  Porpoise  cleft  the  under- 
billows  and  shot  ahead,  free  at  last  from  the  grip 
of  the  whirlpool. 

Man  had  triumphed  over  nature  I 

On  rushed  the  ship  like  a  race  horse,  for  the 
engine  was  working  as  it  never  had  before,  and  it 
did  not  have  the  pool  to  contend  against. 

"  Slow  down,"  said  Mr.  Henderson,  "  and  we 
will  go  to  the  surface." 

Two  minutes  later,  under  the  buoyancy  of  her 
empty  tanks,  the  Porpoise  lay  floating  on  the  top 
of  the  waves,  under  the  shining  stars. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

UNDER   FIRE 

"  I  SHOULDN'T  want  to  go  through  that  exper- 
ience again,"  remarked  Mr.  Henderson,  as  he,  with 
all  of  the  ship's  company  except  Mrs.  Johnson  and 
Nellie  went  on  deck.  "  I  thought  we  were  lost, 
sure." 

"  Lucky  our  engine  didn't  go  disproportionate 
herself  at  de  mostess  criticless  moment,"  put  in 
Washington.  "  Golly,  but  she  suttinly  did  hum  1  " 

"  And  you  deserve  credit  for  making  her  do  the 
humming,"  went  on  the  professor  with  a  smile. 

"  Well,  we  didn't  catch  the  ghost,"  remarked 
Jack,  "  though  I  certainly  saw  him,  it  or  her,  what- 
ever the  thing  is.  I  felt  it  too." 

"  It's  rather  strange,"  spoke  the  professor. 
"  Every  time,  or  nearly  every  time  the  ghost,  as  I 
suppose  we  must  call  it  for  the  present,  makes  its 
appearance,  something  terrible  happens  to  the  ship. 
I  hope  it  doesn't  show  up  too  often." 

It  was  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  they 
had  battled  with  the  whirlpool  over  two  hours. 

177 


178  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

They  talked  of  little  else,  and  each  one  told  how 
he  or  she  felt. 

"  It  was  just  like  twisting  yourself  up  tight  in  the 
swing,  and  then  letting  the  rope  unwind,"  said 
Nellie,  and  they  all  agreed  that  she  had  described 
the  sensation  perfectly.  They  laughed,  also,  a 
thing  they  had  felt  little  like  doing  a  short  time 
previous. 

The  engine  had  run  so  hard,  and  some  of  the 
bearings  had  become  so  warm,  that  for  the  rest  of 
the  night  the  professor  decided  to  let  the  ma- 
chinery remain  stationary.  This  would  give  it 
time  to  cool  down  he  said,  and  they  could  make 
up  the  time  lost  the  next  day. 

Tired  out  with  the  night's  worry  and  labors 
they  all  slept  late  the  next  morning,  and  it  was 
nearly  ten  o'clock  before  breakfast  was  over.  The 
ship  was  started  on  her  course  once  more,  and 
Jack,  who  was  steering,  made  the  engine  hum  as 
the  submarine  scudded  along,  submerged  about 
fifty  feet. 

"  When  you  have  time  I  would  like  to  talk  to 
you,"  said  Mrs.  Johnson  to  Captain  Henderson. 

"  I'm  at  your  service  now,"  replied  the  inventor. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  Nellie  and 
me?  "  the  lady  went  on. 

;t  Take  you  to  the  south  pole  with  us,"  was  the 
answer,  with  a  smile. 


UNDER  FIRE  179 

"  It's  very  kind  of  you,  and  I  don  .  want  to  put 
you  to  any  trouble,"  went  on  Mrs.  Johnson.  "  But 
I  would  like  to  go  back  north." 

"  I'd  like  to  oblige  you,"  returned  the  inventor, 
"  but  I  hate  to  turn  back  now.  We  are  well  on 
our  voyage,  and  I  may  never  get  another  chance 
to  locate  the  pole.  Don't  you  want  to  accompany 
us  ?  Think  of  the  glorious  achievement !  " 

"  I'd  rather  go  back  north,"  persisted  the  lady. 
"  But  I  wouldn't  ask  you  to  turn  the  ship  around. 
What  I  was  going  to  suggest  was  to  sail  along  on 
the  surface  for  a  few  days  and  see  if  you  cannot 
sight  a  homeward  bound  steamer  or  sailing  vessel. 
Then  you  could  put  me  and  Nellie  aboard  her." 

"  Of  course  1  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Henderson.  "  I 
never  thought  of  that.  Though  we  will  be  sorry 
to  lose  your  company,  and  that  of  your  little  girl, 
I  will  do  anything  to  oblige  you.  We  will  at  once 
go  to  the  surface." 

He  called  the  necessary  order  to  Jack  through  a 
speaking  tube  which  led  to  the  conning  tower.  In 
a  few  minutes  the  ship  shot  upward,  and  emerged 
from  the  ocean  in  a  little  shower  of  foam  and 
spray. 

She  lay  undulating  on  the  surface,  and  was  just 
beginning  to  move  forward  again,  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  screw,  when  a  dull  boom  echoed  off  to 
the  left. 


180  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Jack  looked  from  the  observation  windows  in 
the  conning  tower  and  saw,  about  a  mile  away  a 
big  steamer.  From  her  side  a  white  cloud  of 
smoke  floated,  and  then  the  water  splashed  about 
fifty  feet  from  the  blunt  nose  of  the  submarine. 

Once  more  came  the  boom,  the  white  cloud  of 
smoke  and  this  time  the  water  splashed  only 
twenty-five  feet  away  from  the  bow  of  the  Porpoise. 
A  third  time  came  the  sound,  and  the  splash  was 
even  nearer. 

"  They're  firing  on  us !  "  yelled  Jack. 

At  his  cry  the  professor  ran  on  deck.  He  was 
just  in  time  to  see  the  fourth  shot  made,  and  this 
time  the  shell  dropped  into  the  water  just  astern 
of  the  Porpoise  and  so  close  that  when  it  exploded 
it  sent  a  shower  of  spray  all  over  the  deck. 

"Here!  Stop  that!"  yelled  Mr.  Henderson, 
shaking  his  fist  in  the  direction  of  the  steamer. 
"  You  nearly  hit  us  that  time.  Do  your  practicing 
in  some  other  direction !  " 

"  I  don't  think  they  can  hear  you,"  said  Jack. 
"  And  besides,  I  don't  believe  they  are  practicing." 

14  Then  what  in  the  world  are  they  doing?  " 

"  Shooting  at  us  I  guess." 

"  Why  do  they  want  to  shoot  at  us  ?  We 
haven't  done  them  any  damage." 

"  Perhaps  they  think  we  are  a  torpedo  boat," 
suggested  Jack.  "  Maybe  that  vessel's  nation  is  at 


UNDER  FIRE  181 

war  with  some  other  one  and  wants  to  sink  us  if  it 


can." 


"  I  believe  you're  right!  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. "  But  this  will  never  do.  They  must 
stop!" 

Once  more  the  big  gun  on  the  ship  was  fired 
and  the  shell  came  dangerously  close.  At  the 
same  time  several  other  reports,  less  in  volume 
were  heard,  and  the  water  all  about  the  submarine 
began  to  bubble  as  the  missiles  from  the  machine 
guns  cut  the  waves. 

"  Maybe  it's  an  English  vessel  sent  to  capture 
Mark  and  me  because  of  that  anarchist  trouble  at 
the  hotel,"  Jack  went  on. 

"  Nonsense !  "  exclaimed  the  captain.  "  But 
whatever  it  is,  we  must  stop  it,  or  they  will  sink 
my  ship.  Wave  your  handkerchief,  Jack." 

The  boy  sprang  to  the  top  of  the  conning  tower, 
in  order  to  permit  those  on  the  vessel  to  see  him 
more  plainly,  and  vigorously  shook  the  white  rag. 
That  it  was  observed  was  evident  when  some  one 
on  the  steamer  wig-wagged  back  a  reply.  In  a 
few  minutes  a  boat  was  seen  to  put  off  from  the 
ship,  and  soon  a  little  launch,  in  command  of  a 
lieutenant  in  uniform,  drew  up  alongside  the  Por- 
poise. 

11  Who  is  captain  of  this  craft?  "  asked  the  lieu- 
tenant as  he  came  aboard. 


i82  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  I  am,"  replied  Mr.  Henderson.  "  What  do 
you  mean  by  firing  on  me  ?  " 

"  I  am  Lieutenant  Muchmore,"  said  the  other, 
saluting.  "  Captain  Wackford,  of  the  Sylph,  in 
His  Britanic  Majesty's  service,  presents  his  compli- 
ments, and  asks  you  to  pardon  the  occurrence. 
You  see  we  took  you  for  a  derelict  and  were  trying 
to  sink  you." 

"  I  thought  perhaps  war  had  broken  out  be- 
tween some  country  and  the  United  States  since 
we  left  port,"  went  on  Mr.  Henderson,  "  and  that 
you  were  trying  to  make  a  capture." 

"  No,  it  was  only  that  we  thought  you  a  water- 
logged craft,  and  a  danger  to  navigation,"  repeated 
the  lieutenant.  "  But  what  sort  of  a  ship  have 
you?" 

"  Come  below  and  I'll  show  you  the  finest  sub- 
marine that  ever  was  built,"  answered  the  inventor 
with  pardonable  pride.  "  If  you  don't  mind,  give 
your  launch  orders  to  go  back  to  the  ship,  and  I'll 
show  was  something  that  will  make  you  open  your 
eyes." 

Anxious  to  see  what  the  strange  little  craft  could 
do  Lieutenant  Muchmore  sent  his  launch  back,  and 
went  below  with  Captain  Henderson.  He  was  as- 
tonished at  what  he  saw,  and  unlike  most  English- 
men was  willing  to  say  so. 

Mr.  Henderson  then  went  to  the  conning  tower. 


UNDER  FIRE  183 

He  directed  the  man-hole  cover  to  be  clamped  on, 
and  then  filled  the  tanks.  The  ship  sank  fifty  feet 
below  the  surface  and  then  shot  forward. 

Seated  in  the  cabin  the  lieutenant  was  observing 
with  wonder  showing  on  his  face  at  the  accomplish- 
ment of  sailing  along  under  water.  Suddenly  the 
lights  were  shut  off,  and  the  shutters  moved  back 
from  the  bull's-eye  windows.  The  sea,  glowing  in 
the  beams  of  the  search  light,  was  alive  with  fish, 
large  and  small,  beautiful  and  hideous. 

"  Wonderful  I  "  exclaimed  the  Englishman. 

The  bull's-eyes  were  closed,  the  lights  switched 
on,  and  then,  speeding  the  engine  almost  to  the  top 
notch  the  captain  steered  the  submarine  straight  for 
the  war-ship. 

He  had  carefully  noted  her  direction  before 
starting  his  own  craft,  and  he  resolved  to  do  a  little 
maneuvering  that  would  still  further  astonish  the 
visitor.  By  careful  reading  of  the  different  gages 
Mr.  Henderson  was  able  to  come  to  the  surface 
right  in  front  of  the  Sylph,  to  the  no  small  aston- 
ishment of  the  men  on  the  deck  of  the  vessel. 

Then,  just  to  show  what  the  Porpoise  could  do, 
the  inventor  darted  around  the  war-ship  in  a  circle. 
He  sunk  below  the  surface,  went  under  the  keel  of 
the  Sylph  and  came  up  on  the  other  side.  Then 
he  went  the  whole  length  of  her,  under  water, 
starting  at  the  stern  and  ending  at  the  bow,  where 


1 84  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

he  brought  the  submarine  to  a  rest  in  a  smother  o? 
foam. 

"Great!  Wonderful!  Surprising!"  were 
some  of  the  adjectives  Lieutenant  Muchmore  used 
as  he  stepped  from  the  conning  tower,  with  Cap- 
tain Henderson,  onto  the  deck. 

At  the  appearance  of  the  officer  and  the  inventor 
a  group  of  those  on  the  Sylph  gave  three  cheers  for 
the  little  vessel. 

"  Is  she  for  sale?"  asked  Captain  Wackford. 

"  No,  thank  you,"  replied  Mr.  Henderson  with 
a  laugh. 

"  Because  if  she  is  I'll  give  you  free  passage  to 
England  with  her,  on  my  ship,"  went  on  the  com- 
mander. "  My  government  would  give  a  fortune 
for  a  boat  that  can  do  what  yours  does." 

"  It  is  not  for  sale,"  repeated  Mr.  Henderson, 
"  but  I  have  some  one  on  board  who  would  ap- 
preciate a  free  passage  to  England,  or  any  northern 
port." 

"  Who  is  it?  "  asked  Captain  Wackford. 

"  A  Mrs.  Johnson  and  her  daughter," 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

CAUGHT  IN  AN  ICE  FLOE 

MR.  HENDERSON  soon  explained  the  finding  of 
the  lady  and  the  little  girl,  and  Captain  Wackford 
readily  agreed  to  give  them  passage  to  New  York, 
as  the  Sylph  was  to  call  at  that  port. 

So  Nellie  and  her  mother  were  put  aboard  the 
warship,  after  bidding  farewell  to  the  captain  and 
crew  of  the  submarine.  Mr.  Henderson  and  the 
boys  promised  to  write  to  them  as  soon  as  they  got 
back  from  their  voyage  to  the  south  pole,  and, 
amid  a  chorus  of  good-byes  the  Porpoise  resumed 
her  journey. 

For  several  days  the  submarine  forged  to  the 
south,  and  the  weather  became  noticeably  cooler. 
Some  of  the  nights  were  chilly,  and  those  on  watch 
were  glad  of  the  heavy  coats  they  had  brought 
along. 

One  morning,  after  a  week  of  travel,  when  no 
interruptions  had  occurred  by  reason  of  accidents, 
old  Andy  came  up  on  deck,  and  sniffing  the  air. 
said: 

185 


186  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  We'll  sight  ice  before  night,  or  I'm  a  Dutch- 
man." 

"  What  makes  you  think  so  ?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  I  can  smell  it,"  replied  the  hunter,  whereat 
Jack,  and  Mark  who  had  joined  him,  laughed. 

"  That  is  no  joke,"  put  in  Professor  Henderson, 
who,  coming  up  the  companionway  heard  what  was 
said.  "  Old  sea  captains  will  tell  you  they  can 
smell  an  iceberg  long  before  they  can  see  it." 

"  I  don't  claim  to  be  a  sea  captain,"  said  Andy, 
"  but  I  once  was  on  a  whaling  voyage  and  I  learned 
to  sniff  ice  in  the  air.  I  saved  the  ship  from  col- 
lision with  a  berg  once." 

"  Let  me  see,"  began  the  inventor  as  the  adven- 
turers sat  about  the  supper  table  after  the  meal  was 
finished,  "  who  have  the  watches  on  deck  to- 
night?" 

;'  Washington  first  and  Bill  second,"  replied 
Jack  looking  at  the  chart. 

"  Keep  a  sharp  watch  for  the  icebergs,"  advised 
the  captain.  "  If  you  feel  a  sudden  chill  in  the 
air,  and  see  something  white,  stop  the  engine  at 
once  and  call  for  me." 

When  the  Porpoise  had  been  put  in  shape  for 
the  night,  and  the  company,  tired  out  from  their 
labors  over  a  general  "  house  cleaning "  which 
Captain  Henderson  had  insisted  on,  went  to  bed, 
Washington  took  his  place  in  the  conning  tower. 


CAUGHT  IN  AN  ICE  FLOE  187 

It  was  quite  cold,  but  as  the  temperature  for  sev- 
eral days  past  had  been  steadily  falling,  nothing 
was  thought  of  it. 

"  I  guess  I'll  git  out  my  fur-lined  sealskin  coat,'* 
said  the  colored  man  to  himself  as  he  felt  the  chill 
night  air,  that  seemed  to  increase  in  frigidity  along 
about  eleven  o'clock.  He  went  to  the  cabin  to  get 
his  overcoat,  and,  returning  on  deck  prepared  to 
spend  the  rest  of  his  hour  of  watch  in  ease  and  com- 
fort. He  stretched  out  on  the  bench  in  the  con- 
ning tower,  noted  that  the  machinery  was  working 
right  and  that  the  proper  course  was  beeing  steered, 
and  then  he  let  his  thoughts  drift  to  the  many  ad- 
ventures he  and  his  employer  had  gone  through 
of  late,  and  also  while  on  the  trip  "  Through  the 
Air  to  the  North  Pole." 

Washington  gave  one  frightened,  startled  look, 
in  a  few  minutes,  so  comfortable  had  he  fixed  him- 
self, but  happening  to  look  forward  through  the 
glass-covered  porthole  of  the  tower,  he  saw  some- 
thing that  made  the  cold  chills  run  down  his  back. 

There,  right  in  front  of  the  Porpoise,  and  not  a 
cable-length  away  was  a  tall,  mysterious,  white 
thing  which  was  shimmering  in  the  pale  light  of  the 
moon  that  had  lately  risen. 

Washington  gave  one  firghtened,  startled  look, 
and  then,  with  a  tongue  that  could  hardly  move, 
he  yelled  out : 


i88  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  De  ghost  I     De  ghost !     He'll  git  me  suah  I  " 

Then  the  colored  man  made  a  dive  for  the  stair- 
way leading  to  the  cabin,  but  missed  it  and  brought 
up  with  a  crash  on  the  steel  floor  of  the  conning 
tower. 

"What  is  it?"  called  Professor  Henderson, 
springing  out  of  his  bunk. 

"  De  ghost !  "  wailed  Washington  from  the  hud- 
dled up  heap  he  was  in. 

"  Catch  him !  "  yelled  the  captain. 

"  I  dasn't,"  moaned  Washington. 

"  The  next  instant  the  ship  quivered  from  stem 
to  stern.  There  was  a  terrible  shock,  followed  by 
a  grinding,  crashing  sound.  Then  the  craft 
seemed  to  be  pressed  down  by  some  great  weight. 
It  heeled  over  to  one  side,  and  the  water  began  to 
pour  down  the  open  man-hole. 

"Quick!  Clamp  on  the  covers!  "  shouted  Mr. 
Henderson  as  he  felt  the  sea  dashing  into  the  in- 
terior of  the  boat. 

Jack  and  Mark  sprang  to  obey.  It  took  all 
their  strength,  for  the  water  was  running  in  like  a 
mill-race. 

"  What  has  happened?  "  asked  Andy,  as  he  tried 
to  climb  up  the  companionway  ladder,  that  was 
tilted  backward. 

"  I  guess  we've  hit  your  iceberg!  "  cried  Mr» 
Henderson. 


CAUGHT  IN  AN  ICE  FLOE  189 

"I  knew  I  smelled  the  frozen  stuff,"  replied  the 
old  hunter. 

They  got  the  covers  on  the  manhole  only  just 
in  time  and  they  all  crowded  into  the  cabin,  while 
Jack  switched  on  the  electric  lights. 

"  Is  the  ship  damaged?  "  asked  Mark. 

"  I  think  not,"  replied  Mr.  Henderson.  "  But 
we  are  sinking.  Look  at  the  depth  gage." 

The  hand  on  the  clock-face  was  moving  slowly 
around.  From  ten  it  went  to  twenty  feet,  then  to 
thirty  and  kept  going  until  it  stood  at  seventy. 

"  Look  to  the  air  tanks,"  ordered  Mr.  Hender- 
son to  Washington,  who,  by  this  time  had  recovered 
from  his  fright.  "  See  if  they  are  all  right." 

The  colored  man  came  back  in  a  few  minutes 
and  reporte^  that  the  supply  of  compressed  atmos- 
phere was  safe  and  that  there  was  plenty  of  it. 

'  That's  good,"  remarked  Mr.  Henderson. 
"  Whatever  else  happens  we  can  breathe  for  a 
while." 

"  But  what  has  happened?  "  asked  Andy. 

"  I  think  the  top  part  of  an  iceberg  toppled  down 
on  us,"  was  the  reply.  "  You  know  about  nine- 
tenths  of  a  berg  is  under  water.  Sometimes  there 
is  a  warm  current  of  the  ocean  underneath  the  ice, 
and  it  melts.  Then  it  becomes  top-heavy  and  tilts 
over.  One  of  that  sort  must  have  caught  us,  and 
has  shoved  us  down  into  the  sea." 


igo  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  But  why  don't  we  rise  again  when  the  ice  floe 
slips  off  us?  "  asked  Mark. 

"  Because,  in  all  probability  the  ice  will  not  slip 
off  us,"  answered  the  professor  grimly.  "  It  may 
be  so  large  that  it  has  caught  us  like  a  bug  under  a 
barn  door." 

"  Then  we  are  fast  in  the  ice  under  water,"  spoke 
Andy  after  a  pause. 

"  It  looks  like  it,"  came  from  the  inventor. 
"  However  we  will  not  give  up  yet.  We  may  be 
able  to  make  our  way  out.  Start  the  engine  at 
full  speed,  Washington.*' 

The  machinery  which  the  professor  had  shut 
down  at  the  first  cry  of  alarm  was  set  going.  Soon 
the  throb  and  hum  told  that  the  big  screw  was 
revolving. 

Meanwhile  the  Porpoise  had  regained  an  even 
keel,  and  had  stopped  sinking,  remaining  at  the 
depth  of  seventy  feet  below  the  surface. 

;'  We  will  first  try  to  go  straight  ahead,"  said 
the  captain. 

He  turned  on  more  power  and  they  all  waited  in 
anxiety.  The  test  would  tell  whether  they  could 
escape  in  that  direction  or  not. 

But,  though  the  powerful  screw  churned  the 
water  to  foam  in  the  tunnel,  the  Porpoise  never 
budged.  It  was  as  if  she  was  held  in  a  vice. 

"  It's  of  no  use,"  remarked  Mr.  Henderson  with 


CAUGHT  IN  AN  ICE  FLOE  191 

a  shake  of  his  head  as  he  watched  the  speed  gage 
and  noted  that  it  remained  stationary.  "  We  must 
now  try  the  other  way." 

Once  more  the  big  screw  was  set  going,  this  time 
in  the  opposite  direction,  so  as  to  pull  the  ship  out 
of  the  ice  if  it  was  possible.  But  this,  too,  was  of 
no  avail. 

"  It  looks  as  if  the  ice  had  us,"  said  Andy,  try- 
ing to  speak  in  a  cheerful  tone.  "  But  there's  one 
way  more  to  try." 

"  What  is  that?  "  asked  Mr.  Henderson. 

"  If  we  were  in  the  air  ship  we  could  go  up,"  re* 
plied  the  old  hunter.  "  But,  as  it  is,  we  had  better 
go  down.  Why  don't  you  fill  all  the  water  tanks, 
and  try  to  sink  beneath  the  iceberg?  It  can't  go 
down  so  very  far  into  the  water,  and  I  reckon  we 
could  slip  under  it." 

"The  very  thing!"  exclaimed  the  professor, 
whose  mind  was  too  sorely  troubled  over  the  hap- 
pening to  enable  him  to  think  of  plans  of  escape. 
"  That's  the  best  thing  to  do." 

Under  the  inventor's  direction  Washington 
filled  the  tanks  and  then,  ere  the  pumps  had  ceased 
working,  the  screw  was  started  and  the  deflecting 
rudder  inclined  to  cause  the  ship  to  dive. 

One,  two,  three  minutes  passed,  and  still  the 
Porpoise  did  not  move  toward  the  bottom  of  the 
sea.  She  remained  submerged  and  stationary. 


i92  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Anxious  eyes  gazed  at  the  dials.  The  indicating 
hands  trembled  under  the  throbbing  of  the  engines, 
but  did  not  move. 

"  It  will  not  work !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Hender- 
son in  sorrowful  tones. 

"  What  does  it  mean  ?  "  asked  Bill,  who  had 
come  up  to  where  the  others  stood. 

"It  means  that  we  are  prisoners  in  the  ice; 
caught  between  the  upper  and  lower  parts  of  a 
gigantic  berg,  and  held  here  under  the  water." 

"  Can't  we  ever  get  out?  "  asked  Jack,  a  tremor 
coming  into  his  voice.  "  Can't  we  escape  when 
the  ice  melts?  " 

"  The  ice  of  the  southern  polar  sea  seldom  melts 
in  this  latitude,"  replied  the  professor. 

An  ominous  silence  folowed  his  words. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  SHIP  GRAVEYARD 

TRULY  the  adventurers  were  in  a  position  that 
might  well  cause  the  stoutest  heart  to  quail.  With 
hundreds  of  tons  of  ice  above,  below,  and  on  every 
side  of  them,  their  chances  of  escaping  alive  from 
this  frozen  tomb  were  very  small. 

"  Can't  we  make  an  attempt  to  get  out  of  this 
prison?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  Indeed  we  will,"  said  the  professor.  "  We 
will  try  all  the  means  at  our  command.  If  they 
all  fail—" 

He  dared  not  finish  the  sentence,  but  they  all 
knew  what  he  meant.  It  was  now  about  one 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  ship  had  become 
stationary  after  the  uneasy  motion  caused  by  the 
oscilation  of  the  big  berg. 

"  We  may  as  well  turn  in  and  get  a  little  sleep," 
remarked  Mr.  Henderson.  '  We  can  all  work 
better  if  we  get  some  rest." 

It  is  doubtful  whether  any  of  them  slept,  for 
the  horror  of  their  position  was  too  fresh  in  their 
minds.  Still,  lying  down  in  the  bunks  rested  them, 

193 


194  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

It  was  six  o'clock  when  Washington  awoke.  In 
spite  of  the  dangers  of  the  icy  grave,  he  had  man- 
aged to  get  a  little  sleep.  He  prepared  breakfast 
and  called  the  others. 

"  Make  a  good  meal,"  advised  Mr.  Henderson. 
"  We  have  plenty  of  work  ahead  of  us." 

"  Are  you  going  to  free  the  ship?  "  asked  Mark. 

"  I  am  going  to  try,"  was  the  answer. 

A  little  later  the  inventor  was  busy  in  one  of  the 
small  store  rooms  aft  when  Jack  came  up.  The 
professor  was  carefully  taking  out  a  box  labelled: 

DYNAMITE !     DANGEROUS ! 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  ?  "  asked  the  boy. 

"  I  am  going  to  try  the  same  experiment  we  at- 
tempted on  the  volcanic  island,"  was  the  reply. 
"  Only,  this  time,  I  am  afraid  we  shall  have  to 
complete  it  to  the  end.  There  is  little  likelihood 
of  the  ice  falling  apart." 

"  Then  you  are  going  to  blow  it  up?  "  went  on 
Jack. 

"  That's  what  I  hope  to  do,"  the  inventor  went 
on.  "  I  see  no  other  way,  and,  though  there  is  a 
risk,  it  is  not  so  great  a  one  as  to  wait  to  be 
crushed  in  the  ice  as  it  freezes  more  solidly." 

Under  the  directions  of  Mr.  Henderson  they  got 
out  the  diving  suits.  The  professor,  the  two  boys 


THE  SHIP  GRAVEYARD  195 

and  Andy  put  them  on.  The  dynamite,  in  spe- 
cially preparel  water-proof  packages,  with  long 
fuses  was  laid  in  readiness  close  to  the  door  of  the 
diving  chamber. 

Into  the  cell,  the  four  who  were  to  make  the 
perilous  journey  under  the  ice,  took  their  places. 
The  water  was  slowly  admitted,  and  then,  with  the 
electric  lights  in  their  helmets  throwing  out  power- 
ful gleams,  they  started  forward  as  the  outer  door 
swung  open. 

It  was  well  they  had  all  taken  the  precautions 
to  don  thick  undergarments  and  clothing,  for,  even 
through  the  heavy  rubber  diving  suits,  the  terrible 
cold  of  the  southern  polar  sea  struck  a  chill  to  their 
very  bones. 

As  the  professor  had  said,  the  ship  was  caught 
between  the  upper  and  lower  parts  of  the  iceberg. 
On  either  side,  ahead  and  to  the  rear  there  was 
open  water.  Beneath  their  feet  there  was  a  floor 
of  ice.  It  was  as  if  they  and  the  ship  had  been 
placed  between  two  great  sheets  of  the  frozen  mat 
ter. 

Their  progress  was  slow,  for  the  water  ham. 
pered  their  movements  and  each  one  had  some  oi 
the  dynamite  to  carry.  The  footing,  too,  was  in- 
secure, for  the  icy  bed  of  the  ocean  was  slippery. 

As  they  were  huddled  together,  the  professor 
in  the  lead,  and  their  lamps  making  a  faint  ilium- 


i96  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

ination  in  the  darkness,  they  suddenly  became 
aware  of  a  great  shadow  over  them.  They  looked 
up,  and  their  hearts  nearly  ceased  beating  as  they 
saw  a  gigantic  sperm  whale  right  over  them,  and 
between  the  ice.  The  terrible  animal  had  observed 
them  also,  and,  food  being  scarce  in  those  frigid 
regions,  had  evidently  made  up  its  mind  to  dine  on 
some  choice  morsels. 

The  whale  was  nearly  as  large  again  as  the  sub- 
marine, and  to  the  frightened  voyagers  seemed 
more  immense  than  a  house.  With  slow  motions 
of  the  flukes  the  animal  placed  itself  right  over  the 
boys  and  men,  ready  to  rush  at  and  take  them  into 
its  terrible  maw. 

Old  Andy,  who  alone  seemed  to  retain  his  pres- 
ence of  mind,  stepped  to  the  front.  The  professor 
and  the  boys  wondered  what  he  was  going  to  do. 
Then  Andy  held  up  one  of  the  electric  guns. 

Always  thinking  of  his  chosen  calling,  the  old 
hunter  had  picked  up  the  weapon  as  he  was  leav- 
ing the  Porpoise.  He  waited  until  the  whale  was 
within  a  short  distance,  so  close  in  fact  that  the 
small  eyes,  out  of  all  seeming  proportion  to 
the  rest  of  the  big  body,  could  be  seen.  Then 
Andy  fired  one  of  the  explosive  bullets  straight  into 
the  open  mouth  that  was  fringed  with  rows  of  the 
springy  bone  that  is  a  part  of  a  whale's  eating 
apparatus. 


THEY    WERE    IN   THE    MIDST   OF   A    GRAVEYARD    OF   WRECKED    SHIPS. — 

Page  200. 


THE  SHIP  GRAVEYARD  197 

The  shot  took  effect,  and  made  a  vital  wound. 
In  its  death  struggles  the  beast  lashed  the  ocean 
to  foam,  and,  but  for  the  fact  that  Andy  as  soon 
as  he  fired  the  shot  crouched  down,  pulling  the 
others  toward  the  floor  of  ice,  they  might  all  have 
been  killed. 

The  whale  turned  and  made  a  rush  in  the  op- 
posite direction  to  that  of  the  divers.  This  was  a 
welcome  sign  to  the  professor,  for  he  knew  the 
animal  was  seeking  open  water  and  this  told  him  it 
must  be  somewhere  in  the  vicinity. 

Their  hearts  still  beating  loudly  from  the  close- 
ness of  death,  the  adventurers  continued  their  way. 
On  every  side  were  fish,  big  and  little,  and,  though 
some  of  the  larger  ones  thrust  themselves  to  the 
men  and  boys,  as  if  wondering  what  strange  crea- 
tures they  were,  none  of  them  offered  to  attack. 

Led  by  the  professor  they  made  a  complete  cir- 
cuit of  the  ship  that  was  held  fast  in  the  ice.  As 
the  inventor  had  surmised,  the  Porpoise  was  nipped 
only  above  and  below.  If  she  could  be  freed  at 
either  of  those  points  she  could  rise  to  the  surface, 
or  sink  down  under  the  ice. 

After  making  a  careful  examination  of  the  po- 
sition of  the  craft,  Mr.  Henderson  motioned  to 
have  the  dynamite  placed  on  the  ice,  in  front  of, 
and  about  two  hundred  feet  away  from  the  nose 
of  the  ship. 


i98  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

He  connected  the  cartridges  with  the  fuse  ane) 
wires  that  were  to  explode  them,  and  then,  taking 
the  free  end,  he  started  back  toward  the  ship. 
Washington  was  on  the  watch  for  them,  and  oper- 
ated the  diving  chamber.  Soon  the  four  were 
back  in  the  Porpoise. 

"  Now  to  see  if  our  plan  will  work,"  said  Mr. 
Henderson.  "  I  am  relying  on  the  well  known 
downward  force  of  dynamite  to  blow  a  hole  in  the 
bottom  part  of  the  ice,  so  that  we  can  drop  below." 

;<  Why  not  make  a  hole  above  so  we  can  rise  and 
escape?  "  asked  Bill. 

"  Because,"  replied  the  professor,  "  we  are  now 
in  the  region  of  perpetual  ice.  The  ocean  above 
us  is  one  fast  floe,  or  a  number  of  smaller  ones, 
so  that,  in  any  event  our  progress  would  be  impos- 
sible. But  we  can  sail  far  enough  down  under 
water  to  escape  all  the  ice.  That  is  the  purpose  of 
the  Porpoise.  That  is  why  I  built  her.  We  will 
now  begin  on  the  last  part  of  our  voyage;  that  is 
if  we  can  get  free  of  the  fearful  grip  of  this  sea  of 
ice." 

There  was  little  they  could  do  to  protect  them- 
selves. They  would  either  escape  or  be  blown  to 
pieces  in  case  the  explosive  exerted  too  great  a 
force.  They  all  put  on  life  preservers  to  guard 
against  the  contingency  of  the  Porpoise  being 
ripped  apart  and  themselves  cast  into  the  water,  yet 


THE  SHIP  GRAVEYARD  199 

they  realized  that  without  their  ship,  they  could 
live  but  a  little  while,  in  the  ice-filled  water  near  the 
south  pole. 

The  professor  saw  that  everything  was  in  readi- 
ness. He  hesitated  a  moment  and  looked  at  the 
electric  button  in  his  hand,  for  this  time  the  dyna- 
mite was  to  be  detonated  by  a  battery.  How  much 
might  depend  on  one  push  of  the  finger  1 

There  was  a  slight  movement  to  the  muscles 
of  the  professor's  hand.  Then  it  seemed  as  if  a 
thunderbolt  had  fallen  into  the  midst  of  the  ocean 
about  them. 

There  was  a  dull  rumble,  but  the  confined  space 
and  the  thick  walls  of  the  ship  shut  most  of  it  out. 
It  was  followed  by  a  sickening  dizzy  motion  to 
the  submarine.  She  seemed  about  to  roll  over 
and  those  in  her  grabbed  frantically  at  the  sides. 
The  next  instant  the  craft  plunged  down,  down, 
down,  into  the  water  which  was  filled  with  broken 
cakes  of  ice,  that  rattled  against  the  steel  sides,  like 
peas  in  a  pan. 

Down  and  down  the  Porpoise  went,  for  her 
tanks  were  full.  More  and  more  rapidly  she  con- 
tinued to  sink,  until  it  seemed  she  would  fetch  up 
in  the  deepest  cavern  of  the  ocean. 

"  We's  gwine  t'  Mars  Davy  Jones's  locker, 
suah !  "  Washington  exclaimed  as  he  looked  at  the 
depth  gages. 


200  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  Has  the  experiment  succeeded?  "  asked  Andy 
of  Mr.  Henderson. 

"  I  think  so,"  was  the  answer.  "  At  any  rate 
we  are  free  from  the  ice,  temporarily  at  least.  We 
are  sinking  down  through  the  hole  the  dynamite 
made,  just  as  I  hoped  we  would." 

"  Where  will  we  end  up?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  No  one  knows,"  replied  the  captain.  "  But  I 
would  say  — " 

At  that  instant  the  ship  stopped  sinking  and 
brought  up  with  a  bump. 

"  I  should  say  we  were  at  the  end  of  this  part 
of  our  journey,"  finished  the  inventor. 

He  turned  off  the  cabin  lights  and  lighted  the 
search  lamps  that  threw  a  gleam  so  the  water  could 
be  looked  at  from  the  bull's-eyes  windows.  The 
sight  that  met  their  gaze  was  an  astonishing  one. 

They  were  in  the  midst  of  a  graveyard  of 
wrecked  ships,  and,  on  every  side,  scattered  over 
the  ocean  bed,  were  the  broken  hulks  that  had  once 
been  stately  vessels. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

CAUGHT  BY  SEA  SUCKERS 

"  WHAT  sort  of  a  place  is  this  ?  "  asked  Andy, 
as  he  gazed  at  the  last  resting  spot  of  the  big  ships. 

"  They  have  probably  drifted  here  with  the 
ocean  currents,  become  caught  in  the  ice  and  have 
remained  here  hundreds  of  years,"  said  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. "  Some  of  the  ships  are  very  old,  and,  by 
their  build  must  have  sailed  the  waters  centuries 
ago." 

"  Maybe  some  of  them  are  treasure  ships,"  sug- 
gested Jack. 

"  They  might  be,"  admitted  the  professor. 

"  Then  we'll  go  aboard  and  get  the  gold,"  spoke 
Mark. 

"  I'm  afraid  you'll  be  disappointed,"  went  on 
the  inventor.  "  In  the  first  place  most  treasure 
ships  are  looted  before  they  sink.  And  it  would 
be  very  dangerous  for  any  of  us  to  venture  to  ex- 
plore those  hulks." 

"Why?"  asked  Jack. 

"  Because  they  are  rotten,  and  liable  to  fall  to 
201 


202  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

pieces  any  minute.  If  you  happened  to  be  in  one 
at  the  time  you  would  be  caught  in  the  wreckage 
and  eventually  drowned  even  though  you  had  on 
a  diving  suit.  Then,  again,  the  ice  here  is  con- 
stantly shifting  about,  and  a  sudden  motion  of  the 
under-water  floe  might  carry  you  hundreds  of  miles 
away.  So  we  will  not  try  to  hunt  for  any  fortunes 
on  the  sunken  ships." 

With  this  the  boys  were  forced  to  be  content. 
They  stood  at  the  small  windows  looking  at  the 
skeletons  of  ships  that  lay  on  every  side  of  the 
Porpoise.  Some  of  the  craft  were  big  steamers, 
and  others  were  small  sailing  vessels.  A  few  had 
jagged  holes  in  the  hulls,  showing  how  they  had 
been  damaged.  A  few  stood  upright,  with  sails 
all  set,  as  if  disaster  had  suddenly  come  upon  them. 

"Well,  what  is  the  next  move?"  asked  Andy 
after  a  pause.  "  Are  we  going  to  stay  here?  " 

"  We  are  going  to  find  the  South  Pole,"  spoke 
Mr.  Henderson  suddenly.  "  That  is  what  I  set 
out  to  do,  and  I  am  going  to  accomplish  it  if  possi- 
ble. We  have  had  many  accidents  and  a  harder 
time  in  some  respects  than  when  we  made  our  trip 
to  the  north  in  the  air  ship.  But  I  am  sure  we 
shall  succeed.  Start  the  ship  to  the  south,  Wash- 
ington." 

"  But  we  may  run  into  an  iceberg,"  objected  the 
old  hunter,  who  was  inclined  to  be  cautious. 


CAUGHT  BY  SEA  SUCKERS  203 

"  I  think  not,"  answered  Mr.  Henderson.  "  I 
believe  we  are  on  a  sort  of  level  plane  between  two 
vast  upper  and  lower  fields  of  ice.  We  can  go 
freely  in  any  direction  excepting  up  or  down." 

"  How  is  that?  "  asked  Mark.  "  I  don't  quite 
understand." 

"  Because  there  is,  I  believe,  a  big  sheet  of  ice 
above  us,  one,  say  several  hundred  feet  thick.  The 
same  thing  is  below  us,  between  us  and  the  real 
bed  of  the  ocean." 

"  But  suppose  we  have  to  go  up  to  renew  our  air 
supply?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  We  can't  go,"  replied  the  inventor. 

"  Then  we  will  die." 

"  Not  necessarily.  We  will  steam  along  until 
we  come  to  a  place  where  there  is  no  ice  above  us." 

"  But  I  thought  you  said  there  was  nothing  but 
ice  above  us  now." 

"  So  there  is,  but  I  intend  to  head  due  south  and 
there,  I  believe,  we  will  find  an  open  polar  sea. 
If  we  do  my  theory  will  be  proved  and  we  will 
have  made  a  great  discovery." 

"  Forward  then !  "  exclaimed  Jack.  "  Let  us 
strike  for  the  open  sea." 

The  Porpoise  began  to  move  ahead.  She 
steamed  slowly,  for  Mr.  Henderson  realized  that 
he  was  in  dangerous  waters.  He  took  his  position 
in  the  conning  tower,  and  had  Jack  with  him  to 


204  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

assist  in  looking  for  any  obstructions  that  they 
might  unexpectedly  meet. 

The  big  searchlight  gave  a  fine  illumination,  for 
the  ice  above  and  below  reflected  back  the  beams, 
and  what  would  otherwise  have  been  a  sea  of  dark- 
ness was  made  one  of  daylight. 

The  water  swarmed  with  fish,  but  they  were  like 
none  that  the  adventurers  had  ever  seen  or  dreamed 
of  before.  There  were  monsters  w'th  hideous 
heads,  and  eyes  so  large  that  they  occupied  nearly 
half  of  the  ugly  bodies. 

Then  there  were  serpent-like  forms,  fish  with 
long  slender  bodies  and  whip-fashioned  tails,  with 
jaws  that  extended  before  them  for  ten  feet  or 
more.  Others  there  were,  great  lumbering  mon- 
sters that  crawled  along  on  the  ice,  somewhat  as 
seals  do. 

After  several  hours'  travel  the  submarine  ran 
into  a  school  of  fish  that  had  shapes  like  those  of 
polar  bears,  while  their  heads  were  like  those  of 
sharks.  The  creatures  swarmed  up  to  the  side 
of  the  vessel,  and  some  scratched  with  their  claw- 
like  fins  on  the  glass  windows  of  the  conning  tower 
and  the  side  bull's-eyes. 

A  meal  was  prepared  by  Washington,  and  all 
the  adventurers  brought  good  appetites  to  the 
table.  On  and  on  rushed  the  ship,  every  hour 
coming  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  pole. 


CAUGHT  BY  SEA  SUCKERS  205 

Professor  Henderson  had  turned  the  steering 
of  the  craft  over  to  Mark,  who,  with  Jack  as  an 
assistant  was  sending  her  along  at  a  good  speed, 
when  suddenly  the  submarine  seemed  to  slacken  in 
her  progress. 

"What's  the  matter  now  I  wonder?"  asked 
Mark. 

"  Maybe  the  engine  bearings  got  hot,  and  Wash- 
ington had  to  slow  up  to  cool  them,"  suggested 
Jack. 

He  looked  through  one  of  the  side  windows  in 
the  conning  tower,  a  moment  later,  and  uttered  a 
cry  of  fear. 

"What  is  it?  "asked  Mark. 

Jack  pointed  with  a  hand  that  trembled  from 
fright.  Staring  at  them  through  the  thick  glass 
of  the  bull's-eye  the  boys  beheld  the  most  hideous 
sea  monster  they  had  yet  encountered. 

It  seemed  to  be  a  vast  circular  mass  of  flesh, 
twenty  feet  in  diameter,  and,  in  the  middle  were 
two  openings  each  three  feet  across.  They  were 
like  big  holes,  and,  at  the  farther  end  of  them 
could  be  seen  two  unblinking  eyes.  In  the  centre 
was  a  horrible  mouth,  armed  with  a  triple  row  of 
teeth. 

Down  below  there  was  a  short  body,  at  the 
end  of  which  was  a  smaller  disk,  armed  with  a 
sharp  horny  point. 


206  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  What  is  it?  "  asked  Jack  in  a  whisper. 

"  I  don't  know,"  replied  Mark. 

A  moment  later  Mr.  Henderson  came  up  the 
companionway  into  the  tower.  He  caught  one 
glimpse  of  the  monster. 

"  It  is  the  great  sucker  of  the  polar  seas  I  "  he 
exclaimed.  "Quick!  Speed  up  the  engine!  If 
that  one,  and  the  mates  of  it,  fasten  on  to  us  we 
will  have  trouble !  " 

He  pressed  the  signal  that  connected  with  the 
engine  room,  and  told  Washington  to  start  the 
engine  at  its  greatest  power.  The  next  instant  the 
ship  throbbed  and  trembled  under  the  vibrations 
of  the  big  screw. 

"  We  may  escape !  "  cried  the  professor. 

As  he  spoke  the  ship  seemed  to  come  to  a  sudden, 
stop.  The  engine  could  still  be  felt  moving,  and 
the  big  screw  still  churned  the  water  to  foam  in 
the  tunnel,  but  the  craft  was  stationary. 

"  We  are  caught !  "  exclaimed  the  professor. 

"So  we  are!" 

The  windows  in  the  conning  tower  were  dark- 
ened. The  big  sucker  had  thrown  itself  forward 
and  spread  itself  over  the  glass,  clasping  its  horri- 
ble form  half  way  about  the  submarine. 

"  Let's  look  at  the  other  windows !  There  may 
be  only  one  of  the  creatures !  "  Mr.  Henderson  ex- 
claimed, as  he  hurried  down  the  companion  way 


CAUGHT  BY  SEA  SUCKERS  207 

and  into  the  main  cabin.  He  threw  back  the  slides 
covering  the  glass. 

The  sight  that  met  his  eyes  caused  him  to  recoil 
in  horror.  There,  pressing  their  shapes  against 
the  steel  sides,  and  over  the  bull's-eyes  of  the  ship 
were  two  more  of  the  gigantic  suckers! 

The  ship  had  now  ceased  to  move,  and  Wash- 
ington, in  the  engine  room,  feeling  that  something 
was  wrong,  had  shut  off  the  power.  The  adven- 
turers were  caught  in  a  trap  more  terrible  than  that 
of  the  ice,  the  volcanic  mountain,  or  the  Sargasso 
Sea.  It  was  a  trap  from  which  they  might  never 
escape. 

The  suckers,  thinking  the  submarine  was  per- 
haps a  species  of  fish,  like  themselves,  and  one 
of  their  enemies,  had  fastened  on  it  their  fatal 
vice-like  grip.  To  move  through  the  water,  with 
the  weight  of  all  that  clinging  flesh  was  impossile. 

"What  sort  of  creatures  are  they?"  asked 
Jack,  speaking  in  a  whisper,  so  great  was  the  ter- 
ror inspired  by  the  presence  of  the  gigantic  sea 
suckers. 

"  I  never  saw  any  of  them  before,"  replied  the 
professor,  "  but  I  have  read  about  them.  They 
live  only  in  the  polar  regions  and  are  a  species  of 
octupus,  only  more  terrible.  Their  powers  of 
suction  are  enormous,  and  once  they  fasten  on  a 
fish  or  animal  they  never  let  go  until  they  have 


2o8  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

absorbed  it  completely.  They  act  in  the  same  way 
that  a  star  fish  does  on  an  oyster." 

"  But  they  can't  eat  the  ship,"  said  Jack. 

"  No,  I  fancy  the  steel  and  iron  sides  will  pre- 
vent them  from  making  a  meal  of  us." 

"  Then  where  is  the  danger?  " 

"  They  will  not  let  go  until  they  discover  that 
they  cannot  devour  us,  and  it  may  take  days.  We 
can  only  remain  under  water  a  comparatively  short 
time  at  the  most.  So  you  see  where  the  danger 
is." 

"  But  can't  we  go  out  and  kill  them?  Then 
they  would  let  go." 

"  It  would  be  most  risky  to  venture  out,  pro- 
tected even  with  a  diving  suit,  and  carrying  the 
electric  guns,"  the  professor  went  on.  "  No,  I 
must  think  of  some  other  plan  to  free  ourselves 
from  the  creatures." 

"  Blow  'em  up  wif  dynamite  an'  send  'em  inter 
disproportionately  contrastedable  circumferences !  " 
exclaimed  Washington,  who  had  been  listening  to 
the  conversation. 

14  This  isn't  any  time  to  joke,"  Mr.  Henderson 
said  sternly. 

"  I  wasn't  joking,"  replied  the  colored  man. 
"  Can't  we  squirt  acid  on  'em  or  chop  'em  up,  or  — 
or—" 

"  We  can  do  nothing  for  the  time  being,"  said 


CAUGHT  BY  SEA  SUCKERS  209 

the  professor.  "  Come,  we  will  have  a  consulta- 
tion on  the  subject.  Perhaps  some  one  may  be 
able  to  think  of  a  plan  of  rescue." 

"  Let  us  hope  so." 

They  all  gathered  in  the  cabin.  The  professof 
explained  the  nature  of  the  creatures,  as  far  as  he 
knew  them  from  what  he  had  read  or  heard.  He 
pointed  out,  through  the  glass  windows,  over  which 
the  suckers  were  still  clinging,  how  they  maintained 
their  grip,  by  exhausting,  through  their  big  mouths, 
the  air  between  their  saucer-like  surfaces  and  the 
ship  to  which  they  were  clinging. 

"  Can't  we  go  out  and  fight  'em?  "  asked  Andy, 
who  was  always  ready  to  use  a  gun. 

"  I  doubt  if  we  could  get  out,"  replied  the  pro- 
fessor. "  Though  we  can  not  see  them,  I  believe 
the  creatures  cover  every  part  of  the  ship  from 
stem  to  stern.  We  could  never  open  the  door  of 
the  diving  chamber  with  that  terrible  sucker  cover- 
ing the  iron  portal." 

"  Maybe  if  we  wait  long  enough  a  lot  of  sharks 
will  come  along  and  eat  'em  up,"  put  in  Jack. 

"  I  am  afraid  sharks  will  not  come  to  these 
frozen  waters,"  said  the  professor.  "  They  like 
a  warm  climate." 

"  And  you  don't  think  it  would  be  feasible  to 
use  dynamite,"  asked  Mark. 

"  We  can't  get  out  to  place  it  where  it  would 


210  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

blow  up  the  fish  and  not  us,"  answered  Mr.  Hen- 
derson.    "  If  we  could  it  might  serve." 

A  silence  fell  on  the  group.  They  were  in  sore 
straits  and  there  seemed  no  hope  of  rescue.  The 
big  disk-like  bodies  that  covered  the  windows  did 
not  move,  but  remained  there,  staring  with  hor- 
rible persistency  into  the  interior  of  the  ship. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

LAND  UNDER  ICE 

SUDDENLY  the  craft  began  to  move.  Slowly  at 
first,  then,  with  more  speed  it  forged  ahead  through 
the  water. 

"Are  we  free?"  asked  Andy,  starting  up. 

'Who  started  the  machinery?"  demanded  the 
professor. 

"  No  one,"  replied  Jack.  "  We  are  all  here. 
There  is  no  one  in  the  engine  room." 

"  But  we  are  moving,"  said  Mark. 

"  It's  dem  sucker-fish !  "  exclaimed  Washington. 
"  Dey  is  takin'  us  off  to  der  dens  an'  dere  we'll 
all  be  eat  up  1 " 

"  I'm  afraid  part  of  it  is  true,"  said  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. "  The  creatures  are  certainly  making  off 
with  us.  'How  powerful  they  must  be !  " 

"  Will  dey  take  us  to  a  cave  ?  "  faltered  Wash- 
ington. "  Will  dey  eat  us  up?  " 

"  I  don't  think  they'll  eat  us  up,"  spoke  the  in- 
ventor. "  It  would  defy  even  their  powerful 
sucking  apparatus  to  bore  through  the  steel  sides 
of  the  Porpoise.  What  I  am  afraid  of  is  that 

211 


212  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

they  may  move  us  to  some  hidden  depth  where 
we  will  be  caught  under  the  rocks  or  in  the  ice, 
and  so  lose  what  little  chance  there  is  of  getting 
free." 

"  And  the  worst  of  it  is  we  can't  do  a  thing  to 
help  ourselves !  "  exclaimed  Andy.  "  This  is  the 
worst  game  I  was  ever  up  against !  " 

The  adventurers  were  indeed  helpless.  They 
could  not  get  out  of  their  ship  to  attack  the  mon- 
sters, even  had  they  dared  to.  Their  engine, 
powerful  as  it  was,  had  proved  no  match  for  the 
creatures,  and  now  they  were  being  carried  away, 
ship  and  all,  to  some  unknown  place. 

The  ship  did  not  go  through  the  water  fast. 
Though  the  suckers  seemed  to  be  working  in  union 
their  bodies  were  too  unwieldly,  and  the  ship  so 
large,  that  their  pace  was  slow.  Nevertheless  they 
kept  steadily  on. 

Several  times,  in  their  desperation,  the  adven- 
turers tried  the  force  of  the  big  screw  against  that 
of  the  suckers.  It  was  of  no  avail.  Neither  was 
the  device  of  emptying  the  tanks,  and  trying  to 
force  the  craft  up  as  far  as  the  roof  of  ice  would 
permit  it  to  go. 

"  It's  of  no  use,"  announced  Mr.  Henderson 
with  something  that  sounded  like  a  groan.  "  We 
must  prepare  for  the  worst." 

"  How  long  can  we  live  here  without  going  to 


LAND  UNDER  ICE  213 

the  surface  after  a  fresh  supply  of  air?"  asked 
Bill. 

"  About  three  days,"  was  the  answer.  "  I  took 
the  precaution  to  put  a  double  supply  into  the 
tanks,  in  readiness  for  an  emergency,  but  I  never 
thought  of  such  a  terrible  situation  as  this." 

The  submarine  seemed  to  be  moving  more 
rapidly  now.  It  was  useless  to  try  to  see  through 
either  the  windows  in  the  side  or  in  the  conning 
tower,  for  all  the  glass  was  covered  by  the  horrible 
bodies. 

"  What  will  they  do  with  us  when  they  get  us 
where  they  want  us?"  asked  Andy. 

"  What  can  they  do  except  hold  us  prisoners  un- 
til —  until  — "  The  professor  broke  off  the  sen- 
tence he  dared  not  finish. 

For  an  hour  or  more  the  craft  was  moved 
through  the  water  at  moderate  speed.  Then  it 
came  to  a  stop.  Those  on  board  were  alert  for 
what  might  happen  next. 

"  I  guess  dey  done  got  us  in  der  cave,"  said 
Washington  with  chattering  teeth.  "  Now  dey'll 
begin  to  devour  us  wid  dem  terrible  big  mouths! 
Golly,  I  wish  I  was  home !  " 

"  Stop  that  nonsense !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Hender- 
son. "  Be  a  man !  There  is  no  danger  yet.  The 
sides  of  the  Porpoise  will  defy  worse  enemies  than 
those  attacking  us  I  " 


an  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

At  that  instant  the  ship  began  to  move  again. 
It  was  hauled  slowly  through  the  water. 

"  They  are  pulling  us  backward !  "  said  Andy, 
as  he  watched  the  needle  of  the  compass. 

Once  more  the  submarine  was  stopped.  Then 
it  moved  forward  at  a  more  rapid  pace  than  at 
any  time  since  the  suckers  had  seized  it.  An  in- 
stant later  it  brought  up  against  some  solid  object 
with  such  a  jar  that  those  inside  were  thrown  off 
their  feet. 

"  Something  has  hit  us !  "  cried  Jack. 

"  More  likely  we've  struck  something,"  said  the 
professor. 

Again  the  ship  forged  to  the  rear,  and  once  again 
it  was  sent  swiftly  ahead.  Then  came  the  second 
shock,  harder  than  the  first,  which  sent  some  of  the 
party  headlong. 

"  They  are  banging  us  against  a  rock !  "  cried 
Mr.  Henderson. 

"  Do  you  mean  those  sea  suckers  ?  " 

"  Yes.  They  have  probably  found  that  the 
shell  of  the  Porpoise  is  too  hard  even  for  their 
powerful  jaws.  So  they  have  taken  us  to  some 
place  where  the  rocks  show  and  are  banging  us 
against  them  in  order  to  break  the  ship,  so  they 
can  get  at  what  is  inside." 

Once  more  the  ship  was  drawn  backward  and 
again  dashed  against  the  stone.  The  shock  was  a 


LAND  UNDER  ICE  215 

hard  one  and  toppled  over  all  who  were  not  cling- 
ing to  something. 

"  They  are  ramming  us  bow  on  against  the 
rocks,"  cried  Andy.  "  It  will  break  us  apart  if 
they  hit  us  many  more  times !  " 

Washington  hurried  forward.  He  came  back 
with  his  eyes  showing  terror. 

"  There's  a  lot  of  rocks  right  ahead  ob  us !  "  he 
exclaimed.  "  I  see  'em  through  th'  little  window 
jest  above  th'  screw.  There's  land  under  this  here 
water!  " 

"  Land  under  this  ice  do  you  mean?  "  asked  the 
professor. 

"  That's  what  I  mean,  an'  we's  bein'  rammed 
agin  th'  rocks !  " 

"  There  it  goes  again !  "  cried  Jack,  as  the  ship 
shivered  from  stem  to  stern  against  the  impact  of 
the  blow. 

'  This  can  not  last  long,"  said  Mr.  Hender- 
son. "If  they  strike  us  many  more  times  some 
of  the  places  will  start,  the  water  will  come  in,  and 
we  will  drown!  " 

"  But  what  can  we  do?  "  asked  Jack. 

"  Let's  go  out  now  and  see  if  we  can't  kill  some 
of  the  beasts  with  the  guns,"  suggested  Andy. 

"  I  cannot  permit  it,"  answered  the  inventor. 
"  Our  position  is  bad  enough  as  it  is,  but  to  go  out 
would  be  to  lose  our  lives  for  a  certainty.  The 


216  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

suckers  would  swallow  us  up  in  a  moment.  I  must 
find  some  other  way." 

There  was  a  period  of  silence,  while  all  waited 
anxiously  for  what  was  to  happen  next.  It  was 
not  long  in  coming.  The  next  impact  of  the  ship 
against  the  rocks  was  the  hardest  yet,  and  it  seemed 
that  more  of  the  suckers  must  have  gripped  the 
craft. 

"  She's  leakin'  a  little !  "  exclaimed  Washington 
coming  back  from  an  inspection  forward.  "  De 
water  am  tricklin'  in !  " 

"  We  must  fight  them !  "  exclaimed  Andy.  He 
ran  to  get  a  gun  and  his  diving  suit. 

"  Don't  try  to  go  out!  "  warned  the  professor. 
"  You  will  surely  be  killed." 

"  I'd  rather  be  killed  out  there  than  die  shut 
up  in  the  ship!"  cried  the  old  hunter.  "I'm 
going  out !  " 

"Wait!"  exclaimed  Jack  suddenly.  "I  have 
a  plan  that  may  save  us !  " 

"  What  is  it?  Speak  quickly!  "  said  Mr.  Hen- 
derson. "  We  are  in  desperate  straits !  " 

As  he  spoke  there  came  another  crash  against 
the  rocks. 

"  We  must  electrocute  the  suckers !  "  cried  the 
boy. 

"  Electrocute  them?     What  do  you  mean?  " 

"  Take  the  wires  from  the  electric  light  circuit, 


LAND  UNDER  ICE  217 

attach  one  to  each  end  of  the  ship,  and  start  the 
dynamo  at  full  speed!  "  answered  Jack. 

"What  good  will  that  do?" 

"  The  ship  is  steel,"  went  on  the  boy.  "  It  will 
become  charged  with  a  powerful  current.  We 
can  insulate  ourselves  by  putting  on  rubber  boots, 
but  the  shock  of  the  electricity  will  kill  the  crea- 
tures !  " 

"Good  for  you!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Henderson. 
"  Quick  boys,  everybody  lend  a  hand !  Washing- 
ton, detach  the  wires  and  run  one  to  the  bow  and 
the  other  to  the  stern  of  the  ship.  Then  get  out 
the  boots." 

In  a  few  minutes  the  dynamo  was  ready  to  send 
a  death-dealing  current  through  the  entire  ship. 
The  professor  and  all  the  others  put  on  the  boots, 
that  were  a  part  of  the  diving  equipment.  The 
dynamo  was  started  at  full  speed  and  the  purring 
hum  told  that  electricity  of  great  power  was  being 
developed. 

The  professor  stood  with  his  hand  on  a  switch, 
ready  to  close  the  circuit  as  soon  as  sufficient  power 
had  accumulated.  Once  more  the  suckers  backed 
the  ship  in  order  to  give  it  impetus  for  another 
impact  on  the  stones. 

Click!  The  professor  snapped  the  switch  shut. 
There  was  a  burst  of  bluish-green  flame,  and  the 
movement  of  the  boat  suddenly  ceased. 


218  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  I  guess  that  does  for  'em !  "  shouted  Andy. 

"  Wait  a  few  minutes,"  advised  the  professor. 
"  The  suckers  may  not  all  be  dead  yet !  " 

He  kept  the  current  flowing  throughout  the 
length  of  the  ship  for  several  minutes,  and  then 
turned  it  off. 

"  Now  to  see  if  the  plan  worked,"  he  said.  The 
windows  in  the  cabin  were  eagerly  scanned. 

"Hurrah!"  cried  Mark.  "The  suckers  have 
gone !  " 

"  I  guess  the  electricity  killed  them,"  spoke  Mr. 
Henderson.  "  We  will  venture  out  now  in  our 
diving  suits  and  see  what  sort  of  a  place  we  arc 
in." 

Soon  the  adventurers  were  arrayed  in  the  heavy 
suits.  Under  them  they  wore  thick  clothing,  and 
in  each  suit  was  placed  a  small  flat  heater,  operated 
by  a  storage  battery.  The  heaters  were  made  of 
coils  of  fine  wires,  and  the  electric  current,  meet- 
ing with  much  resistance  in  passing  through  them, 
heated  the  coils,  so  there  was  considerable  warmth. 

It  was  all  needed  as  they  found  when  they  felt 
the  water  entering  the  diving  chamber,  for  the 
fluid  was  as  cold  as  an  ocean  full  of  icebergs  could 
make  it.  Protected  however  by  the  heavy  suits, 
warm  clothing  and  the  heaters  the  divers  were 
fairly  comfortable. 

The  outer  door  was  opened  and  they  all  started 


LAND  UNDER  ICE  219 

back  in  amazement  at  the  sight  which  met  their 
eyes.  Before  them  lay  a  forest  of  real  trees,  with 
bushes  growing  among  them,  while  the  ground, 
instead  of  being  like  the  usual  ocean  bed  was 
covered  with  grass. 

As  Washington  had  said,  on  getting  a  small  view 
of  the  place  from  the  little  window,  it  was  real 
land  under  water. 

Their  first  surprise  at  the  strange  spectacle  over, 
the  adventurers  glanced  about  for  a  sight  of  the 
terrible  sea  suckers.  But  they  need  not  have 
feared.  Lying  in  a  huddled  up  mass  toward  the 
rear  of  the  Porpoise  were  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
ugly  creatures.  The  electricity  had  finished  them. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

ATTACKED  BY  AN  OCTOPUS 

THEY  walked  some  distance  away  from  the 
ship,  for  the  land  under  the  water  was  easy  to 
travel  on.  It  looked  exactly  as  if  some  beautiful 
valley  had  suddenly  been  submerged  in  the  middle 
of  summer,  when  everything  was  fresh  and  green. 

They  had  gone  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  Porpoise  when  Professor  Henderson  motioned 
to  them  that  they  had  better  return.  On  their 
way  back  they  passed  what  looked  to  be  a  large 
cave  in  the  side  of  a  hill.  Wondering  what  could 
be  in  it,  Mark  and  Jack  paused  to  peer  into  the 
black  opening. 

The  next  instant  two  long  white  things,  like 
slender  serpents  shot  out.  With  the  rapidity  of 
lightning  they  wrapped  themselves,  one  about  each 
boy,  and,  before  the  horrified  companions  of  the 
lads  could  do  anything  the  unfortunate  youths  were 
whisked  out  of  sight  into  the  cavern. 

For  a  few  seconds  no  one  knew  what  to  do.  To 
rush  in  to  the  rescue  of  the  boys  would  have  been 
foolhardy,  as  the  terrible  octupus,  which  they  knew 

220 


ATTACKED  BY  AN  OCTOPUS    221 

had  grabbed  the  lads,  would  have  been  a  match 
for  all  of  the  adventurers,  unarmed  as  they  were. 

It  would  be  necessary  to  return  to  the  ship  and 
come  back  with  some  of  the  electric  guns,  which 
they  had  neglected  to  bring  with  them.  In  the 
meanwhile  the  beast  might,  and  probably  would, 
kill  Mark  and  Jack.  But  there  was  nothing  else 
to  do. 

The  professor  motioned  for  Andy  to  remain 
on  the  watch  at  the  mouth  of  the  cavern,  so  as  to 
be  on  hand  in  case  he  could  help  the  boys,  while 
the  others  were  hurrying  toward  the  ship.  Then, 
leading  the  way  the  Professor  signalled  for  Tom 
and  Bill  to  follow  him. 

They  could  not  hurry  much  for  the  heavy  suits 
and  the  resistance  of  the  water  impeded  their 
progress.  But  they  made  all  the  speed  they  could, 
urged  on  by  a  terrible  fear. 

Meanwhile  old  Andy  stood  in  front  of  the  cave, 
hoping  against  hope  that  there  might  be  some  way 
of  aiding  the  boys.  If  it  had  happened  above 
water  he  would  not  have  hesitated  to  rush  in  and 
give  battle  to  the  beast,  even  though  he  was  un- 
armed. If  he  had  his  knife  now  he  would  venture 
in,  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 

"Oh,  why  didn't  I  bring  my  gun  along!" 
thought  Andy  regretfully. 

His  hand  dropped  to  his  side  and  his  fingers 


222  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

came  in  contact  with  a  big  knife  in  the  belt  of  the 
diving  suit.  Here  was  a  weapon  he  had  forgot- 
ten all  about. 

He  drew  forth  the  blade.  It  seemed  a  small 
one  with  which  to  attack  so  large  and  terrible  a 
creature  as  the  octupus.  Yet  to  remain  there, 
knowing  the  boys  were  being  killed  was  more  than 
old  Andy  could  stand.  Grasping  the  handle  with 
a  firm  grip  he  started  toward  the  cave.  His  foot 
caught  in  something,  and  he  nearly  fell. 

Looking  down  to  see  what  had  tripped  him  he 
saw  a  long  thin  pole,  straight  as  a  lance.  It  had 
once  been  a  tree  limb,  but  all  the  branches  were 
stripped  off. 

"  Now  if  I  only  had  an  iron  point  for  that," 
Andy  thought.  Then  he  recollected  the  knife  in 
his  hand. 

"  The  very  thing,"  he  remarked  aloud,  the 
words  sounding  startlingly  loud  in  the  confinement 
of  the  copper  helmet.  "  If  I  only  had  something 
to  fasten  the  knife  on  the  pole  I  could  make  a 
spear  to  attack  the  octupus." 

Then  he  saw  long  streamers  of  sea  weed  grow- 
ing up  from  the  ocean  bed.  They  were  very 
tough,  a  kind  of  wirey  grass  that  was  as  strong  as 
rope.  Andy  cut  several  streamers  and,  with  a 
hunter's  skill  bound  the  knife  to  the  end  of  the 
staff. 


ATTACKED  BY  AN  OCTOPUS    223 

Now  he  had  a  weapon  formidable  enough  to 
venture  in  and  give  battle  to  the  monster.  He 
hesitated  no  longer,  fearing  that  even  the  short 
delay  might  have  been  too  much  and  that  the  boys 
were  dead.  He  entered  the  cave.  At  first  he 
could  perceive  nothing  for  it  was  quite  dark. 
Then,  as  his  eyes  became  used  to  the  gloom,  which 
the  lamp  in  his  helmet  faintly  illuminated,  he  saw, 
far  back  in  the  rear,  the  horrible  octupus. 

Two  dark  objects,  around  which  were  wrapped 
several  folds  of  the  terrible  arms,  Andy  guessed 
to  be  Mark  and  Jack,  and  when  he  was  a  faint 
glow  coming  from  them  he  was  sure  they  were  the 
boys,  the  gleams  coming  from  the  lamps  in  their 
helmets. 

Warily  the  hunter  approached  the  creature.  If 
he  had  hoped  to  take  it  unawares  he  was  disap- 
pointed, for,  when  he  had  come  within  ten  feet, 
holding  his  improvised  lance  outstretched  ready 
for  a  deadly  thrust,  the  creature  shot  out  two  long 
arms  toward  Andy. 

Now  the  battle  began.  The  snake-like  feelers, 
armed  with  big  saucer  shaped  suckers,  lashed 
about  in  the  water,  seeking  to  clasp  the  hunter  in 
their  deadly  embrace.  But  Andy,  who  had  fought 
many  kinds  of  wild  animals  on  land,  did  not  lose 
his  presence  of  mind  in  confronting  this  beast  of 
the  sea. 


224  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

Nimbly,  in  spite  of  the  handicap  of  the  heavy 
diving  suit,  Andy  dodged  the  arms.  Watching 
his  chance  he  thrust  at  one,  and  the  sharp  knife 
severed  the  end.  But  another  arm  shot  out,  while 
the  wounded  one  was  drawn  in,  and  the  battle  was 
as  much  against  the  old  hunter  as  before. 

Once  more  he  thrust  his  lance,  and  this  time  he 
severed  one  of  the  arms  close  to  the  ugly  body. 
The  creature,  in  its  rage  and  pain,  redoubled  its 
efforts  to  clasp  Andy. 

The  hunter  decided  to  try  to  get  to  closer  quar- 
ters where  he  could  use  his  spear  on  the  body  of 
the  beast.  He  stooped  down  and  wiggled  along 
on  the  bottom  of  the  cave.  But  the  creature  saw 
him,  and  darted  an  arm  out  to  pull  the  old  man 
in.  Andy  squirmed  to  one  side,  and  then,  being 
as  close  as  he  desired,  he  rose  to  his  feet  and, 
drawing  back  the  pole  thrust  it  with  all  his  force 
straight  at  the  centre  of  the  whitish-yellow  body 
that  was  like  a  horrible  lump  of  soft  fat  directly 
in  front  of  him. 

At  the  first  touch  of  the  knife  the  creature 
squirted  out  an  inky  substance  that  made  the  water 
about  it  as  black  as  night.  Andy  could  not  see, 
but  he  could  feel  that  the  lance  was  still  in  the 
body.  He  pulled  it  back  a  little  and  thrust  again 
and  again,  turning  it  around  to  enlarge  the  wound 
he  had  made. 


ATTACKED  BY  AN  OCTOPUS    225 

Then,  what  he  had  feared  all  along  happened. 
Two  of  the  creatures  arms  found  him,  and  he  felt 
the  terrible  pressure  as  they  wound  themselves 
about  him,  the  sucker-plates  clinging  fast.  Yet  in 
it  all  he  did  not  lose  his  presence  of  mind,  nor  did 
he  let  go  of  the  pole. 

Tighter  and  tighter  the  arms  clasped  him.  He 
struggled  with  all  his  strength  but  he  was  in  a 
grip  more  powerful  than  that  of  a  boa  constrictor. 
Suddenly  the  pole  he  was  holding  snapped  off.  He 
let  go  the  useless  end  and  pulled  the  shorter  partj 
to  which  the  knife  was  bound,  toward  him.  Andy 
felt  his  senses  beginning  to  leave  him,  but  he  de- 
termined to  make  one  more  effort. 

One  hand  was  free,  that  holding  the  knife. 
With  his  last  remaining  strength  he  cut  and  slashed 
at  the  arms  of  the  creature  that  were  clasped  about 
him. 

Again  and  again  he  stuck  the  blade  into  the 
gristle  like  substance.  Could  he  win?  Could  he 
save  his  own  life,  to  say  nothing  of  that  of  the  two 
boys? 

The  creature  was  lashing  about  now  so  that  the 
water  was  a  mass  of  black  foam.  The  ink-color 
was  beginning  to  fade  away.  Andy  could  dimly 
observe  the  horrible  front  of  the  octupus,  and  see 
the  wound  his  lance  had  made.  Then  all  seemed 
to  grow  dark  again.  He  dimly  remembered  try- 


226  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

ing  to  thrust  the  knife  into  one  of  the  saucer- 
shaped  eyes,  and  then  of  a  sudden  his  senses  left 
him. 

When  Andy  came  to  his  senses  he  found  him- 
self lying  on  the  ocean  bed  just  outside  the  cave. 
About  him  stood  the  professor,  Washington,  Tom 
and  Bill.  His  head  buzzed  and  he  felt  weak,  but 
he  knew  he  was  uninjured,  and  that  his  diving  suit 
had  not  been  punctured  in  the  fight  with  the  octu- 
pus,  for  he  could  feel  the  fresh  air  entering  from 
the  tank  at  the  back  of  his  helmet. 

Were  the  boys  killed,  Andy  wondered.  Had 
his  fight  to  save  them  been  in  vain  ?  He  managed 
to  stand  up,  and  then,  to.  his  relief  he  saw  Mark 
and  Jack  standing  behind  Tom  and  Bill.  The 
boys  seemed  weak  but  otherwise  uninjured. 

The  professor  motioned  to  know  if  Andy  could 
walk  and  the  old  hunter  soon  demonstrated  that 
he  could  by  stepping  forward.  Then  the  party 
proceeded  slowly  to  the  ship. 

Little  time  was  lost  by  each  one  in  divesting 
himself  of  his  diving  suit  as  soon  as  they  had  left 
the  water  chamber.  The  first  thing  Andy  asked 
when  his  hemlet  was  off,  was: 

"Did  I  kill  the  beast?" 

"  Indeed  you  did,"  replied  the  professor. 
"  And  just  in  time,  too.  You  were  about  done  for 
when  we  came  back  with  the  guns,  but  they  were 


ATTACKED  BY  AN  OCTOPUS    227 

not  needed.  My !  But  you  must  have  had  a  ter- 
rible fight!" 

"  I  did,  while  it  lasted,"  said  the  hunter.  "  But 
were  the  boys  hurt?  " 

"  They  can  speak  for  themselves,"  replied  Mr. 
Henderson.  "  I  guess  not,  though." 

"  Having  the  wind  almost  squeezed  out  of  us 
was  the  worst  that  happened,"  said  Mark.  '  The 
octupus  must  have  recently  dined  when  it  grabbed 
us,  for  it  didn't  offer  to  eat  us.  And  it  didn't 
grip  us  as  tightly  as  it  might  have  cr  I  reckon  we 
wouldn't  have  come  out  alive.  I  thought  sure  we 
were  going  to  be  killed,  however." 

"  So  did  I,"  put  in  Jack. 

"  I  don't  want  any  more  such  fights  this  trip," 
said  Andy  with  a  weak  smile. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

OUT  OF  THE   ICE 

WORN  out  with  their  encounter  with  the  octu- 
pus,  Andy  and  the  boys  were  glad  to  take  to  their 
bunks.  The  others,  too,  who  were  weary  from 
traveling  under  water,  felt  the  need  of  rest,  and 
so  it  was  decided  to  let  the  ship  remain  stationary 
down  on  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  for  several  hours 
before  going  on  further. 

"  When  we  get  rested  up  we'll  have  a  good  meal, 
and  then  try  to  gain  the  surface  of  the  ocean,"  said 
the  professor. 

There  was  quiet  on  board  the  Porpoise  for  a 
long  time.  Washington  was  the  first  to  awake  and 
he  at  once  set  about  getting  a  meal.  When  it  was 
ready  he  called  the  professor,  and,  one  after  an- 
other all  the  adventurers  rose  from  their  bunks 
and  refreshed  themselves  with  hot  coffee,  bacon, 
eggs  and  preserves,  all  prepared  from  condensed 
foods,  of  which  a  large  supply  had  been  brought. 

"  Now  to  see  if  we  can  make  our  way  upward 
through  the  ice,"  announced  Mr.  Henderson, 

228 


OUT  OF  THE  ICE  229 

'  We  ought  to  be  far  enough  south  to  strike  the 
Open  polar  see  which  I  believe  exists." 

The  engine  was  started  after  the  small  leaks  in 
the  bow,  caused  by  the  ramming  of  the  boat  on 
the  rocks,  had  been  stopped  up,  and  the  professor, 
entering  the  conning  tower,  turned  her  due  south. 

The  screw  vibrated  in  the  tunnel,  the  water 
rushed  out  in  a  big  stream,  the  engines  and  dyna- 
mos hummed,  and  the  hearts  of  all  were  lightened 
as  they  knew  they  were  nearing  the  goal  of  their 
journey. 

Several  hours  passed  and  the  professor,  who 
was  keeping  watch  of  the  gages  noted  they  had 
covered  more  than  one  hundred  miles.  As  the 
supply  of  compressed  air  was  getting  low  Mr.  Hen- 
derson, not  wanting  to  run  any  chances,  decided 
to  make  an  attempt  to  reach  the  surface  and  re- 
fill the  tanks. 

Accordingly  the  water  tanks  were  emptied  of 
their  ballast,  the  rudder  was  set  to  force  the  ship 
to  the  surface,  and  soon  the  depth  gage  showed  a 
constantly  decreasing  amount  of  water  over  the 
heads  of  the  adventurers. 

"  Now,  if  we  don't  hit  the  ice  above  us  we'll  be 
all  right,"  spoke  Mr.  Henderson.  "  We  are 
within  fifteen  feet  of  the  surface." 

Hardly  had  he  ceased  speaking  when  the  Po* 
poise  brought  up  against  something  with  a  bump 


230  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

that  jarred  everyone.  Then  the  submarine  went 
scraping  along,  hitting  the  conning  tower  every 
now  and  then. 

"  Not  clear  of  the  ice  yet,"  said  Mr.  Hender- 
son. "  We  must  go  down  a  little  and  try  again." 

The  tanks  were  filled  with  enough  water  to  keep 
the  boat  about  fifty  feet  under  the  surface,  and  at 
that  depth  she  was  sent  ahead  at  full  speed.  The 
professor's  face  wore  an  anxious  look,  and  when 
Washington  asked  him  if  it  was  not  time  to  re- 
plenish the  air  supply  of  the  boat  the  inventor  told 
the  colored  man  to  be  very  sparing  of  the  contents 
of  the  compressing  tanks. 

"  I'm  afraid  we  are  not  as  near  the  open  sea  as 
I  at  first  thought,"  Mr.  Henderson  finished. 

On  and  on  rushed  the  Porpoise.  The  engines 
were  kept  at  full  speed,  and  after  two  hours  of 
this  fast  run  another  attempt  was  made  to  reach 
the  surface.  Once  more  the  thick  ice  intervened. 

"  Guess  we'll  have  to  blast  our  way  out,"  ob- 
served Andy.  "  We  seem  to  have  lots  of  trouble 
on  this  trip." 

"  Why  not  try  to  ram  your  way  through,"  sug- 
gested Jack. 

"  How  do  you  mean?  "  asked  Mr.  Henderson. 

"  I  mean  to  sink  the  boat  say  two  hundred  feet. 
Then  start  her  up  obliquely  and  perhaps  the  sharp 
prow  will  cut  a  hole  through  the  ice." 


OUT  OF  THE  ICE  231 

"  Hardly  through  ice  fifteen  feet  or  more  thick," 
said  the  captain  despondently. 

11  But  it  may  be  thinner  now,"  persisted  Jack. 

"  At  any  rate  it  will  do  no  harm  to  try,"  the  in- 
ventor admitted.  :'  We  can  not  last  much  longer 
down  here." 

Again  the  tanks  were  filled,  and  by  the  aid  of 
the  deflecting  rudder  the  Porpoise  went  down  into 
the  depths.  Then  the  ballast  tanks  were  quickly 
emptied,  and  the  rudder  turned  so  as  to  force  the 
craft  upward  on  a  slant.  The  engine  was  set  go- 
ing at  top  speed. 

"  Hold  fast  everybody !  "  called  the  professor. 
"  It  is  kill  or  cure  this  trip !  " 

Like  an  arrow  from  a  bow  the  Porpoise  shot 
upward.  On  and  on  it  speed,  gathering  momen- 
tum with  every  foot  she  traveled. 

Suddenly  there  came  a  terrible  crash,  a  grind- 
ing sound  and  a  rending  and  tearing.  The  ship 
trembled  from  end  to  end.  Every  one  was 
knocked  from  his  feet.  There  were  bumpings  and 
scrapings  all  along  the  sides  of  the  submarine. 
Then,  with  one  final  spurt  of  speed,  the  little  ship 
tore  her  way  through  the  ice  and  emerged,  with  a 
splash  and  shower  of  foam  into  the  open  sea! 

Quickly  the  man  hole  was  opened  and,  half  dead 
from  lack  of  fresh  air,  the  adventurers  crawled  out 
on  deck.  It  was  night  and  the  stars  glittered  in 


232  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

the  sky  above.  They  were  just  beyond  the  edge 
of  the  ice  field,  and  all  about  them  was  a  wide  open 
sea. 

"  I  was  right  after  all,"  said  the  professor,  "  but 
I  miscalculated  the  distance.  Had  we  gone  on  a 
few  feet  farther  it  would  not  have  been  necessary 
to  break  through  the  ice." 

"  I  guess  it's  a  lucky  thing  we  didn't  try  it  be- 
fore either,"  remarked  Andy.  "  We  never  could 
have  bored  through  fifteen  feet  of  the  frozen  stuff. 
Where  we  plowed  up  it  is  less  than  two  feet,"  and 
he  pointed  to  where  the  immense  floe  came  to  an 
end. 

It  was  decided  to  go  no  farther  that  night,  how- 
ever, as  the  professor  wanted  to  take  some  observa- 
tions by  daylight  and  ascertain  his  position.  So 
filling  their  lungs  with  the  air,  cold  and  piercing 
though  it  was,  the  adventurers  descended  to  their 
cabin,  and  lots  were  drawn  to  see  who  would  stand 
the  two  night  watches.  It  fell  to  Mr.  Hender- 
son to  take  the  first,  and  Washington  the  second. 
The  captain  accordingly  took  up  his  position  in 
the  conning  tower  and  prepared  to  pass  several 
hours. 

He  was  busy  thinking  over  the  exciting  times  he 
and  his  companions  had  passed  through,  and  plan- 
ning new  trips  to  see  more  wonders  of  the  world, 
when  his  attention  was  .attracted  by  slight  noise 


OUT  OF  THE  ICE  233 

near  the  man  hole  leading  to  the  amldship  com- 
panionway. 

The  professor  looked  up,  and  was  startled  to 
see  a  tall  white  object,  with  outstretched  arms  ad- 
vancing toward  him  with  slow  and  stealthy  tread. 
'  The  ghost  again !  "  exclaimed  the  inventor 
softly.  "  I  must  catch  it  now,  and  see  what  fool- 
ishness it  is,"  for  the  professor  did  not  believe  in 
spirits. 

He  got  down  on  his  hands  and  knees  the  better 
to  escape  observation,  should  the  white  thing  prove 
to  be  a  bodily  substance,  and  started  to  crawl 
toward  it.  He  came  within  ten  feet  of  the  thing, 
and  could  make  out  that  it  was  a  man,  or  at  least 
the  semblance  of  one,  all  clothed  in  white. 

Nearer  and  nearer  the  inventor  crawled  to  the 
thing.  It  turned  to  face  him  now  and  Mr.  Hen- 
derson could  not  help  feeling  startled  as  he  saw 
the  object  had  no  head.  The  neck  ended  in  a 
white  stump. 

In  spite  of  a  little  feeling  of  qualmishness,  which 
even  his  boasted  disbelief  in  ghosts  did  not  save 
him  from,  Mr.  Henderson  was  about  to  spring 
upon  the  thing  and  solve  the  mystery. 

At  that  instant,  however,  Washington,  who  was 
coming  on  deck  to  take  up  his  watch,  appeared  at 
the  head  of  the  companionway,  and  caught  sight 
of  the  terrible  object. 


234  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

The  yells  of  the  colored  man  as  he  dove  down- 
ward and  back  into  the  cabin,  aroused  the  ship. 
Determined  to  solve  the  mystery,  in  spite  of  every- 
thing, the  professor  made  a  leap  forward.  He 
slipped,  and  tumbled  down  the  iron  stairway.  At 
the  same  time,  the  ghost,  with  a  blood  curdling  yell, 
leaped  over  the  professor's  back,  and  disappeared 
down  the  stairs  of  the  conning  tower. 

In  an  instant  the  crew  were  rushing  from  their 
bunk  rooms,  seeking  a  meaning  for  the  disturbance, 

"  It  was  the  ghost  again,"  explained  the  pro- 
fessor as  he  picked  himself  up,  not  much  the  worse 
for  his  tumble.  "  I  tried  to  catch  it,  but  I  didn't. 
Come,  Washington,  it  is  your  turn  to  stand  watch." 

"  Not  to-night,"  said  Washington  firmly. 

It  was  no  use  to  urge  him,  so  Jack  good  na- 
turedly  stood  Washington's  trick.  Nothing  fur- 
ther however  occurred  that  night. 

In  the  morning  the  professor  made  several  ob- 
servations and  found  that  he  was  within  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  of  the  south  pole. 

"  We'll  make  it  to-morrow,  if  we  have  luck," 
he  said. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

THE  BOILING  WATER 

THE  hours  passed  and  the  strange  voyage  con- 
tinued. 

The  Porpoise  traveled  along  at  good  speed,  and 
the  professor  devoted  most  of  his  time  to  looking 
after  the  different  scientific  instruments  and  gages, 
for  they  were  nearing  the  south  pole.  The  deflect- 
ing compass,  which  when  it  came  directly  over  the 
place  corresponding  to  the  pole,  would  point 
straight  up  and  down,  was  assuming  more  and  more 
of  a  perpendicular  position. 

"  We  are  getting  there !  "  exclaimed  the  pro- 
fessor with  delight.  "  A  few  hours  more  and  we 
will  have  won  the  goal !  " 

There  was  considerable  excitement  on  board 
when  the  professor's  announcement  was  made. 
Though  few  of  the  adventurers  cared  as  much  for 
the  scientific  achievement  as  did  Mr.  Henderson, 
they  were  all  glad  he  was  about  to  succeed.  To 
most  of  them  the  locating  of  the  south  pole  was  no 
different  from  visiting  some  new  country,  except- 

235 


236  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

ing  that  there  were  more  adventures  than  on  most 
voyages. 

At  dusk  the  Porpoise  went  to  the  surface  and 
during  the  night  traveled  along  atop  of  the  bil- 
lows. In  the  morning  she  dived  below  again. 
The  engine  was  started  at  high  speed  and  the  de- 
flecting needle  dipped  still  more. 

"  We's  gittin'  dar!"  exclaimed  Washington  as 
he  oiled  the  various  bearings  of  the  machinery. 

Breakfast  was  served  and  hurridly  eaten,  for  the 
excitement  was  telling  on  every  one.  After  the 
meal  had  been  cleared  away  they  all  sat  in  the 
darkened  cabin  looking  out  at  the  water  as  it 
slipped  past  the  glass  windows.  Big  and  little 
fish  swam  up  and  peered  into  the  bull's-eyes  and 
then  darted  away. 

"  That's  sort  of  queer,"  remarked  Jack  a  little 
later. 

"  What  is?  "  asked  Mark,  who  was  sitting  near 
his  chum. 

"  All  the  fish  seem  to  have  suddenly  disap- 
peared," replied  Jack.  "  There  were  hundreds  a 
little  while  ago,  and  now  I  haven't  seen  one  look- 
ing in  the  windows  for  some  time." 

"  Perhaps  there's  a  big  fish  on  their  trail,"  ob- 
served Mark.  "  That's  what  makes  'em  take  to 
the  deep  sea-weed." 

"  Maybe  so,"  replied  Jack. 


THE  BOILING  WATER  237 

A  little  later  Professor  Henderson  entered  the 
room.  He  went  over,  looked  at  the  thermometer, 
and  then  called  to  Washington: 

"  Have  you  got  the  heat  turned  on?  " 

"  No,  sah !  I  ain't  done  truned  on  no  super- 
heated vapor  into  de  radiators,"  replied  the  colored 
man.  "  I  were  jest  thinkin'  dat  we'd  hit  de  south 
pole  by  de  feel  of  it." 

"  It  is  getting  strangely  warm,"  admitted  Mr. 
Henderson. 

"  Ain't  that  what  you  expected  at  the  south 
pole  ?  "  asked  Andy.  "  I  thought  it  was  hot  at 
the  south  pole  and  cold  at  the  north." 

"  That's  what  lots  of  people  imagine,"  said  the 
professor,  "  but  except  for  the  open  sea,  which  I 
have  proved  does  exist,  I  guess  it's  just  as  cold 
at  the  south  as  at  the  north,  especially  in  the  win- 
ter. We  have  struck  the  summer  season." 

"  And  a  mighty  warm  one  at  that,"  observed 
Jack.  "  Whew  I  I've  got  to  take  off  my  coat." 

Indeed  it  was  getting  uncomfortably  warm  in 
the  ship,  and  the  adventurers  who  had  dressed  in 
thick  clothing  to  guard  against  the  rigors  of  ths 
icy  climate,  soon  had  to  lay  aside  many  of  their 
garments. 

"  No  wonder !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Henderson,  as 
he  looked  at  a  thermometer.  "  It  is  eighty  de- 
grees in  here  I  " 


238  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  Worse  than  workin*  in  a  hay  field,"  observed 
Bill,  as  he  wiped  the  beads  of  perspiration  from 
his  forehead. 

"  Let  us  see  what  sort  of  water  we  are  traveling 
through,"  suggested  the  professor,  as  he  again 
turned  off  the  lights  in  the  cabin  so  that  a  view 
could  be  had  from  the  bull's-eyes. 

Wondering  what  would  meet  their  gaze  the  ad- 
venturers peered  out  of  the  small  circular  windows. 
At  first  they  could  hardly  believe  their  eyes. 

There,  right  before  them,  the  sea  was  bubbling 
as  if  it  was  an  immense  tea  kettle.  Steam  formed 
on  the  glass,  and  big  clouds  of  vapor  could  be 
seen.  The  atmosphere  of  the  cabin  became  almost 
unbearable. 

"  We  are  in  the  midst  of  a  boiling  hot  ocean !  " 
cried  the  professor. 

"Are  we  sailing  through  hot  water?"  asked 
Andy. 

"  I  should  say  so,  from  the  feel  of  it,"  answered 
Mr.  Henderson.  "  Put  your  hand  on  the  side  of 
the  cabin." 

Andy  laid  his  fingers  against  the  steel  plates. 
He  drew  back. 

"  I  burned  myself!  "  he  exclaimed. 

"What  are  we  to  do?"  cried  Jack. 

"  Get  out  of  this  by  all  means!  "  exclaimed  the 
inventor.  "  If  we  stay  in  this  hot  ocean  we  will 


THE  BOILING  WATER  239 

be  boiled  alive  like  fishes  in  a  pot.  Send  the 
ship  up,  Washington !  " 

Indeed  it  was  high  time.  The  thermometer 
marked  one  hundred  and  ten  degress,  and  was  ris- 
ing. The  interior  of  the  Porpoise  was  like  that 
of  a  steam  laundry  three  times  heated.  Stripped 
to  their  undergarments  the  adventurers  were 
obliged  to  lie  down  on  the  floor  of  the  cabin  where 
it  was  a  little  cooler. 

It  was  all  Washington  could  do,  used  as  colored 
people  are  to  the  heat,  to  go  into  the  engine  room, 
and  start  the  machinery  that  emptied  the  tanks,  so 
as  to  allow  the  ship  to  mount  to  the  surface. 

The  Porpoise  began  to  rise  slowly,  and  to  the 
suffering  men  and  boys  it  seemed  that  she  never 
went  up  so  reluctantly.  The  heat  was  becoming 
unbearable.  They  could  hear  the  water  bubbling 
even  through  the  steel  sides  of  the  submarine. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

CONCLUSION 

COULD  they  live  to  reach  the  surface?  was  the 
thought  in  the  mind  of  every  one.  The  heat  was 
terrific.  They  were  breathing  in  gasps.  Pro- 
fessor Henderson  went  to  the  water  tank,  thinking 
to  throw  some  of  the  fluid  over  himself  and  his 
companions,  but  he  found  it  so  warm  that  it  almost 
burned  his  hand. 

"  Keep  up  your  courage !  "  exclaimed  the  in- 
ventor. "  We  will  soon  be  at  the  top !  " 

Almost  as  he  spoke  the  Porpoise  bounded  from 
the  waves,  and  fell  back  in  a  splash  of  foam  on  the 
surface  of  the  billows.  They  were  at  the  surface. 

The  professor  rushed  for  the  manhole  and  soon 
opened  it.  He  crawled  out  on  the  deck,  followed 
by  the  others.  They  breathed  in  deep  breaths  of 
the  fresh  air. 

The  submarine  continued  to  sail  on.  Every 
minute  the  sea  seemed  to  boil  more  violently,  un- 
til at  last  the  waves  were  covered  with  a  cloud  of 
steam,  through  which  it  was  difficult  to  observe 
where  they  were  going. 

240 


THE  SOUTH  POLE  341 

"  Hadn't  we  better  turn  back,"  suggested  Mark. 

"  Our  only  hope  is  to  press  on,"  replied  Mr. 
Henderson.  '*  We  may  cross  this  zone  of  boiling 
water  soon." 

He  went  into  the  conning  tower  to  make  an  ob- 
servation. He  came  on  the  deck  the  next  minute, 
very  much  excited. 

"What's  the  matter?"  Are  we  sinking?" 
asked  Andy. 

"  We  are  directly  over  the  south  pole !  "  ex- 
claimed the  professor.  "  We  have  reached  the 
goal  1  We  have  come  to  the  spot  hundreds  of  men 
have  tried  to  reach!  It  has  been  left  for  us  to 
succeed.  Look  at  the  deflecting  needle  I  " 

They  crowded  into  the  conning  tower  to  note  it. 
The  slender  hand  of  steel  stood  straight  up  and 
down,  indicating  that  the  ship  was  over  the  south 
pole,  one  of  the  two  chief  centres  of  magnetism  of 
the  earth. 

"  If  we  only  dared  stop  to  make  some  scientific 
notes  and  observations,"  said  the  professor,  "  we 
could  render  much  valuable  aid  to  the  seekers  after 
truth.  But  it  would  be  sure  death  to  stay  in  the 
boiling  water!  " 

"  I  guess  we'd  better  be  getting  out  of  this  if  we 
want  to  reach  home  alive,"  spoke  Andy. 

Indeed  they  were  all  suffering  very  much,  for 
the  heat  from  the  water  was  awful. 


242  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  Speed  her  up,  Washington  1  "  called  the  pro- 
fessor. "  We  must  get  out  of  here  1  " 

"  Which  way  shall  I  steer?  "  asked  the  colored 
man. 

"  Straight  ahead.     We  are  now  bound  north!  " 

"  Bound  north!  "  cried  Jack. 

"  Certainly,"  answered  the  professor.  "  We 
have  passed  over  the  exact  spot  where  the  south 
pole  is.  The  deflecting  needle  is  beginning  to  tilt 
again.  The  compass  is  indicating  a  northerly  di- 
rection. You  know  that  after  you  go  as  far  south 
as  you  can,  you  have  to  begin  to  go  back  north. 
Well,  we  have  gone  as  far  south  as  we  can.  Now 
we  are  going  north.  We  have  turned  the  south- 
ern end  of  the  globe,  and  are  on  our  way  back." 

For  several  hours  the  Porpoise  continued  along 
on  top  of  the  water.  By  degrees,  as  they  left 
the  vicinity  of  the  boiling  ocean,  it  became  cooler. 
The  water  ceased  to  seeth  and  bubble,  and  Jack 
found,  on  experiment,  that  he  could  bear  his  hand 
in  it. 

"  Hurrah!  "  he  cried,  "  we  are  safe  now." 

"  Next  we'll  have  to  prepare  to  freeze  to  death," 
spoke  Mark.  "  It's  either  one  extreme  or  the 
other  this  trip.  But  we've  had  lots  of  fun  and 
excitement." 

"  Plenty  of  the  last,"  agreed  Jack. 

On  and  on  went  the  submarine.     Once  it  was 


THE  SOUTH  POLE  243 

out  of  the  range  of  the  terrible  heated  zone,  the 
atmosphere  rapidly  cooled,  until  the  adventurers 
were  glad  to  don  their  heavy  garments  again. 

'  This  marks  the  ending  of  the  first  half  of  the 
voyage,"  announced  the  professor.  "  Now  we 
are  going  back.  We  have  accomplished  some- 
thing no  other  living  man  has  done  and  I  am 
proud  of  it.  Proud  of  all  of  you,  and  proud  of 
the  ship !  " 

Several  hours  later,  when  it  was  deemed  safe, 
the  Porpoise  was  sunk  beneath  the  waves,  and 
once  more  more  she  speeded  along  through  the 
water  at  a  fast  speed.  The  ship  seemed  to  know 
she  was  going  home,  for  never  had  she  made  bet- 
ter time. 

'  We  have  solved  every  problem  that  we  met," 
said  the  professor  while  he,  with  Jack  and  Mark, 
were  in  the  conning  tower,  as  Washington  was 
preparing  a  meal. 

"  Except  two,"  said  Jack. 

"What  are  they?" 

"  The  ghost  of  the  submarine,  and  the  identity 
of  the  anarchists  who  blew  up  the  Easton  hotel." 

"  Perhaps  both  riddles  may  be  solved  before  we 
get  back  to  Maine,"  answered  Mr.  Henderson. 

They  both  were,  sooner,  and  in  stranger  ways 
than  either  of  the  boys  expected.  That  night  it 
was  Jack's  first  watch  on  deck.  The  ship  was 


244  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

speeding  on,  and  by  the  air  the  boy  knew  they 
were  approaching  icebergs.  At  midnight  a 
strange  and  sudden  chill  in  the  air  made  him  look 
up. 

Almost  dead  ahead  was  a  big  berg.  He  quickly 
shut  off  the  engine,  and  narrowly  avoided  a  col- 
lision. Then  happening  to  glance  back  he  saw, 
standing  near  the  companionway  leading  down  into 
the  man-hole  a  ghostly  white  shape. 

"  I'll  find  out  what  you  are  this  time,  or  go 
overboard  with  you,"  said  Jack  to  himself,  clench- 
ing his  teeth.  He  crawled  along  the  deck  until 
he  thought  he  was  within  leaping  distance  of  the 
weird  white  thing.  Then  he  made  a  leap. 

He  landed  on  something  soft,  which,  the  mo- 
ment he  struck  it,  let  out  a  yell  that  sounded  loud 
on  the  quiet  night.  Then  the  thing  began  to 
fight.  But  Jack  fought  back  and  held  on  bravely. 

"Here!  What  are  you  tryin'  to  do?"  ex- 
claimed a  voice  in  his  ear. 

"  What  are  you  trying  to  do?  "  asked  Jack  in- 
dignantly, finding  that  the  words  came  from  the 
"  ghost." 

"  Nice  way  to  treat  a  man !  Half  kill  him !  " 
the  white  thing  went  on.  "  Just  when  I'm  trying 
to  get  a  little  sleep  you  come  along  and  pull  me 
out  of  bed !  " 

"  Why,  it's  Bill  Jones,"  exclaimed  Jack,  as  the 


THE  SOUTH  POLE  245 

light  from  the  conning  tower  lamp  fell  on  the  face 
of  the  "  ghost." 

"  Of  course  it  is;  who  did  you  think  it  was?  " 
asked  Bill. 

'*  What  are  you  doing  on  deck  in  your  night 
shirt?  "  asked  the  boy,  letting  the  helper  rise. 

"  Me?     On  deck?     Ain't  I  in  my  bunk?  " 

"  I  should  say  not,"  replied  Jack.  "  What  are 
you  doing  on  deck?  " 

"  Well!  well!  "  remarked  Bill,  rubbing  his  eyes. 
"  I've  gone  and  done  it  again." 

"Done  what?" 

"  Walked  in  my  sleep.  I'm  a  great  sleep 
walker.  Greatest  you  ever  knew.  Once  I 
climbed  to  the  top  of  our  barn  when  I  was  asleep." 

"  So  you're  the  ghost  of  the  submarine,"  ex- 
claimed Jack.  "  That  explains  it." 

"  I  guess  you're  right,"  admitted  Bill,  as  the 
others  came  on  deck  to  see  what  all  the  row  was 
about.  **  I  never  thought  of  it  when  I  heard 
about  the  ghost,  but  I  can  account  for  it  now. 
I'd  get  out  of  my  bunk,  wander  out  on  deck, 
and  then  crawl  back  again.  Of  course,  being  bare- 
foot, or  in  fur  slippers,  I  made  no  sounds.  J 
don't  wonder  you  thought  I  was  a  spirit.  Queer 
I  didn't  wake  up  after  some  of  the  things  I  went 
through." 

"  And  you  always  managed  to  get  back  to  your 


246  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

bunk  in  time  so  that  we  never  caught  you  at  it," 
said  Jack.  "  However,  it's  all  over  now." 

And  so  it  was,  for  after  that  Bill  tied  a  chair 
in  front  of  his  bunk,  and  if  he  did  get  out  in  his 
sleep  he  stumbled  against  it  and  awoke  before  he 
had  gone  far. 

Northward  the  Porpoise  continued  on  her  jour- 
ney. She  entered  a  vast  field  of  ice,  and  only  her 
ability  to  sink  below  the  surface  enabled  her  to 
get  through  it  unharmed.  There  were  few  ad- 
ventures going  home.  Once  a  big  whale  rammed 
the  ship,  as  had  happened  on  the  going  voyage, 
and  several  times  they  were  surrounded  by  hordes 
of  wild  polar  fish  and  walrusses,  but  there  were 
no  accidents,  and  in  a  couple  of  weeks  the  ship  en- 
tered the  temperate  zone. 

Then  came  lazy  happy  days  of  sailing  through 
the  tropical  region.  They  landed  at  several  islands 
and  renewed  their  supply  of  food. 

"  I'm  coming  back  this  way  some  day,"  ob- 
served Mr.  Henderson  one  afternoon  as  the  ship 
was  sailing  along  on  top  of  the  waves. 

"What  for?  "asked  Jack. 

"  To  investigate  that  strange  island  with  a  big 
hole  in  the  middle  that  seems  to  lead  to  the  centre 
of  the  earth,"  was  the  answer.  "  I  have  a  fancy 
we  can  explore  that  by  means  of  a  balloon.  I'm 
going  to  trv." 


THE  SOUTH  POLE  247 

'  Will  you  take  us  along?  "  asked  the  two  boys. 

"  I'll  see,"  replied  the  professor. 

And  later  on  he  did  take  them  on  a  trip,  a  thou- 
sand miles  underground, —  but  that  is  another 
story  to  tell. 

It  was  about  a  week  later  that  the  voyagers 
came  within  sight  of  Key  West. 

"  Off  there  lies  the  United  States,"  said  Mr. 
Henderson. 

"  Hurrah  for  home !  "  cried  Mark. 

Three  days  later  they  landed  at  a  small  Florida 
town.  The  sight  of  the  Porpoise  attracted 
throngs  of  people  to  the  dock  where  she  tied  up. 
Among  them  was  a  newsboy. 

"  Get  me  all  the  papers  for  the  past  month," 
said  Jack.  "  I  want  to  see  what  the  news  is." 

"  Same  here,"  put  in  Mark,  and  the  papers  were 
soon  brought. 

"  Hurrah !  "  exclaimed  Jack,  as  soon  as  he  had 
looked  at  several  of  the  sheets. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Mark,  who  was  unfold- 
ing a  paper. 

"  Anarchists  Confess,"  read  Jack.  "  Two 
Englishmen  Admit  They  Blew  Up  Hotel  Where 
Lord  Peckham  Was  Stopping.  No  Suspicion  At- 
taches to  Two  Youths  Who  So  Mysteriously  Dis- 
appeared! " 

"  Hurrah !  "  joined  in  Mark. 


248  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

"  Those  are  only  the  head  lines,"  went  on  Jack. 
"  There's  a  long  story,  and  I  guess  it  lets  us  out." 

The  two  boys  were  completely  cleared  of  the 
slightest  shade  of  suspicion  of  the  outrage,  and 
there  was  even  an  interview  with  the  English  de- 
tective in  which  he  admitted  that  he  was  wrong. 

A  week  later  the  Porpoise  tied  up  at  her  own 
dock,  whence  she  was  launched. 

"  Back  again,"  remarked  the  professor  as  he 
stepped  ashore.  "  I've  been  to  the  south  pole, 
and  to  the  north  pok.  I  wonder  where  I  shall 
go  next  ?  " 

4  To  the  big  hole  and  underground,"  suggested 
Jack. 

"  We  shall  see,"  said  Mr.  Henderson  with  a 
twinkle  in  his  eyes. 


THE  END 


THE  GREAT  MARVEL  SERIES 

BY  ROY  ROCKWOOD 

I2mo.     Cloth.    Illustrated.    Jacket  in  Colors 

Price  per  volume,  $1.00,  postpaid 


Stories  of  adventures  in  strange  places ,  with 
peculiar  people  and  queer  animals. 

1.  THROUGH  THE  AIR  TO  THE  NORTH 
POLE 

or  The  Wonderful  Cruise  of  the  Electric  Monarch 

The  tale  of  a  trip  to  the  frozen  North  with 

a  degree  of  reality  that  is  most  convincing. 


2.  UNDER  THE  OCEAN  TO  THE  SOUTH  POLE 

or  The  Strange  Cruise  of  the  Submarine  Wonder 
A  marvelous  trip  from  Maine  to  the  South  Pole,  telling  of  adven- 
tures with  the  sea-monsters  and  savages. 

3.  FIVE  THOUSAND  MILES  UNDERGROUND 

or  The  Mystery  of  the  Center  of  the  Earth 

A  cruise  to  the  center  of  the  earth  through  an  immense  hole 
found  at  an  island  in  the  ocean. 

4.  THROUGH  SPACE  TO  MARS 

or  The  Most  Wonderful  Trip  on  Record 

This  book  tells  how  the  journey  was  made  in  a  strange  craft  and 
what  happened  on  Mars. 

5.  LOST  ON  THE  MOON 

or  In  Quest  of  the  Field  of  Diamonds 

Strange  adventures  on  the  planet  which  is  found  to  be  a  land  of 
desolation  and  silence. 

6.  ON  A  TORN-AWAY  WORLD 

or  Captives  of  the  Great  Earthquake 

After  a  tremendous  convulsion  of  nature  the  adventurers  find 
themselves  captives  on  a  vast  "island  in  the  air." 

7.  THE  CITY  BEYOND  THE  CLOUDS 

or  Captured  by  the  Red  Dwarfs 

The  City  Beyond  the  Clouds  is  a  weird  place,  full  of  surprises,  and 
the  impish  Red  Dwarfs  caused  no  end  of  trouble.  There  is  a  fierce 
battle  in  the  woods  and  in  the  midst  of  this  a  volcanic  eruption  sends 
the  Americans  sailing  away  in  a  feverish  endeavor  to  save  their  lives. 

Send  For  Our  Free  Illustrated  Catalogue 


CUPPLES  &  LEON  COMPANY,  Publishers 


New  York 


SEA  STORIES  FOR  BOYS 


BY  JOHN  GABRIEL.  ROWE 

Large  izmo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.     Colored  jacket 
Price  per  volume,  $1.00  Net 


Every  boy  -who  knows  the  lure  of  exploring 
and  who  loves  to  rig  up  huts  and  caves  and 
tree-houses  to  fortify  himself  against  imagin- 
ary enemies  will  enjoy  these  books,  for  they 
give  a  vivid  chronicle  of  the  doings  and 
inventions  of  a  group  of  boys  who  are  ship- 
wrecked and  have  to  make  themselves  snug 
and  safe  in  tropical  islands  where  the 
dangers  are  too  real  for  play. 


1.    CRUSOE  ISLAND 

.Dick,  Alf  and  Fred  find  themselves  stranded  on  an  unknown  island 
with  the  old  seaman  Josh,  their  ship  destroyed  by  fire,  their  friends 
lost. 

2.    THE  ISLAND  TREASURE 

With  much  ingenuity  these  boys  fit  themselves  into  the  wild'life 
of  the  island  they  are  cast  upon  in  storm. 

3.    THE  MYSTERY  OF  THE  DERELICT 

Their  ship  and  companions  perished  in  tempest  at  sea,  the  boys 
are  adrift  in  a  small  open  boat  when  they  spy  a  ship.  Such  a  strange 
vessel! — no  hand  guiding  it,  no  soul  on  board, — a  derelict. 

4.    THE  LIGHTSHIP  PIRATES 

^Modern  Pirates,  with  the  ferocity  of  beasts,  attack  a  lightship 
crew; — recounting  the  adventures  that  befall  the  survivors  of  that 
crew,— and— "RETRIBUTION." 

5.    THE  SECRET  OF  THE  GOLDEN  IDOL 

Telling  of  a  mutiny,  and  how  two  youngsters  were  unwillingly 
involved  in  one  of  the  weirdest  of  treasure  hunts, — and — "THE 
GOLDEN  FETISH." 

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CUPPLES  &  LEON  COMPANY,  Publishers  New  York 


THE  COLLEGE  SPORTS  SERIES 

BY  LESTER  CHADWICK 

12mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    Jacket  in  Color$ 
Price  per  volume,  $1.00,  postpaid 

Mr.  Chadwick  has  played  on  the  diamond 
and  on  the  gridiron  himself. 


1.    THE  RIVAL  PITCHERS 

A  Story  of  College  Baseball 

Tom  Parsons,  a  "hayseed,"  makes  good  on 
the  scrub  team  of  Randall  College. 


2.  A   QUARTERBACK'S  PLUCK 

A  Story  of  College  Football 

A  football  story,  told  in  Mr.  Chadwick's  best  style,  that  Is  bound 
to  grip  the  reader  from  the  start. 

3.  BATTING  TO  WIN 

A  Story  of  College  Baseball 

Tom  Parsons  and  his  friends  Phil  and  Sid  are  the  leading  playert 
On  Randall  College  team.    There  is  a  great  game. 

4.  THE  WINNING  TOUCHDOWN 

A  Story  of  College  Football 

After  having  to  reorganize  their  team  at  the  last  moment,  RandaB 
tnakes  a  touchdown  that  won  a  big  game. 

5.  FOR  THE  HONOR  OF  RANDALL 

A  Story  of  College  Athletics 

The  winning  of  the   hurdle  race  and  long-distance   run  is  tat* 
I  remely  exciting. 

6.  THE  EIGHT-OARED  VICTORS 

A  Story  of  College  Water  Sports 

Tom,  Phil  and  Sid  prove  as  good  at  aquatic  sports  as  they  are 
'«  track,  gridiron  and  diamond. 

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CUPPLES  &  LEON  GOR^ANY,  Publishers  New  York 


The  'Boy  Hunters  Series 

'By  Captain  Ralph  'Bonehill 

12mo.      Illustrated.      Price   per   volume,   31. OO,  postpaid. 


FOUR  BOY  HUNTERS 

Or,  The  Outing  «f  the  Gun  Club 

A  FINE,  breezy  story  of  the  woods  and 
*••  waters,  of  adventures  in  search  ol 
game,  and  of  great  times  around  the  camp- 
fire,  told  in  Captain  Bonehill's  best  style. 
In  the  book  are  gives  full  direction*  for 
camping  out. 


GUNS  AND  SNOWSHOES 

Or,  The  Winter  Outing  of  the  Young  Hunters 

|N  this  volume  the  young  hunters  leave  home  for  a  winter  outing  on  th« 
shores  of  a  small  lake.  They  hunt  and  trap  to  their  heart's  content, 
and  have  adventures  in  plenty,  all  calculated  to  make  boys  "sit  up  and 
take  notice."  A  good  hea!iliy  book;  one  vith  the  odor  of  the  pine  foreiU 
•ad  the  glare  of  the  welcome  campfire  in  every  chapter. 


YOUNG  HUNTERS  OF  THE 

Or,  Out  with  Rod  and  Gun 

Another  tale  of  woods  and  waters,  with  some  strong  hunting  scenes  an4 
ft  good  deal  of  mystery.    The  three  volumes  make  a  splendid  outdoor  series. 

OUT  WITH  GUN  AND  CAMERA 

Or,  The  Boy  Hunters  in  the  Mountains 
T^AKES  up  the  new  fad  of  photographing  wild  animals  as  well  as 
*  shooting  them.  An  escaped  circus  chimpanzee  and  an  escaped  lion 
add  to  the  interest  of  the  narrative. 


CT7PPLES  &  LEON  CO..  Publishers, 


NEW  YOBS 


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